for (all) practical purposes

idiom

—used to say that one thing has the same effect or result as something else

His effort to hide the document was, for practical purposes, an admission that he had made a mistake.

During the blizzard, the town was, for all practical purposes, shut down.

Examples of for (all) practical purposes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Before the mid-1800s, people primarily used firearms for practical purposes: hunting for food, defense from and offense against indigenous populations, controlling enslaved people, expanding territory and fighting against oppressive rulers. —David Yamane, The Conversation, 1 May 2025

Even before the official presidential campaign began on February 5, Putin embarked on what was for all practical purposes a campaign trip, meeting with his constituencies in the Russian provinces. —Maria Lipman, Foreign Affairs, 9 Feb. 2012

Why should an investor receive less interest on a 30-year bond, exposed to many forms of risk over a very long period, than on a 90-day Treasury bill which for all practical purposes carries no risk whatsoever? —George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025

The problem is that the obligations of public benefit corporations are, for all practical purposes, unenforceable. —Kelsey Piper, Vox, 25 Apr. 2025