general-purpose

adjective

gen·​er·​al-pur·​pose ˈjen-rəl-ˈpər-pəs How to pronounce general-purpose (audio)
ˈje-nə-
Synonyms of general-purposenext
: suitable to be used for two or more basic purposes

Examples of general-purpose in a Sentence

a general-purpose glue for routine household repairs
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Genesis says the system can generate unlimited training data, enabling the development of more capable and productive general-purpose robots for real-world applications. Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026 On one side are super-scale players, ByteDance, OpenAI, Google, competing to build general-purpose platforms for massive user bases. Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 There is a real difference between general-purpose large language models like ChatGPT and Claude that have been trained on the open web, and industry-specific legal AI tools that are plugged into the same databases lawyers have been using for decades. Alexandra Smyth, Fortune, 16 May 2026 Today, however, general-purpose chatbots and a host of specialized health models can translate the jargon into plain language within seconds, potentially allaying unfounded fears. Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 15 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for general-purpose

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of general-purpose was in 1894

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Cite this Entry

“General-purpose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/general-purpose. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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