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.
But the holy grail of the burgeoning industry – a general-purpose robot that can work in shops, offices and homes – needs a vast amount of data to learn how to safely and effectively replace humans. Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026 Classicolor is a general-purpose color-negative 35-mm film (ISO 200), ideal for daily use, portraits or capturing travel experiences. New Atlas, 1 Apr. 2026 While GPUs are ideal for training and running AI models because their thousands of cores can perform many operations simultaneously, CPUs have a smaller number of powerful cores running sequential general-purpose tasks. Lola Murti,katie Tarasov, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2026 Congress designed the law for emergencies affecting the nation’s financial system, not as a general-purpose tool to impose sweeping tariffs. Ori Zohar, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Mar. 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“General-purpose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/general-purpose. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster