general-purpose

adjective

gen·​er·​al-pur·​pose ˈjen-rəl-ˈpər-pəs 

ˈje-nə-

: suitable to be used for two or more basic purposes

Synonyms of general-purpose

• unlimited
• general
• unrestricted

Examples of general-purpose in a Sentence

a general-purpose glue for routine household repairs

Recent Examples on the Web

For general-purpose use, Microsoft already taps its own central processing units as well as silicon from Intel and AMD. — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026

Unlike the measures in Rocklin and Lincoln, the Colfax measure would not provide general-purpose revenue. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026

TypeSafe says Jev is designed to handle these judgments faster and more cheaply than general-purpose language models, but with the same ability to set up the classifier through easy, natural language instructions that LLMs offer. — Wen Shao, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Its argument is that the general-purpose robot hand of the future will win by handling tools reliably, not by being dazzlingly complex. — New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for general-purpose

• multipurpose
• purpose