purpose-built

adjective

pur·​pose-built ˌpər-pəs-ˈbilt How to pronounce purpose-built (audio)
chiefly British
: built for a particular purpose

Examples of purpose-built in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The country’s northernmost region happens to be flush with hotels that are purpose-built for snoozing under the night sky, where the Northern Lights are visible about 200 nights a year. Paul Rubio, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2024 Prosecutors described the rural property as a compound that was heavily fortified, purpose-built, and militarized. USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 The Storm Trails feel purpose-built for those with adventurous proclivities. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Companies should favor solutions purpose-built for their specific use cases rather than defaulting to the latest viral sensation. Sylvain Duranton, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Garments independently purpose-built for each of these users would probably diverge mightily from each other; a 21-year-old elite athlete has different physical needs than a middle-aged insurance adjuster at a sports bar. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2024 The company later unveiled an electric shuttle called Origin that was purpose-built to be a robotaxi, and Cruise hoped to run a service by the end of 2019. David Welch, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024 While certainly street legal, Ford’s second iteration of its GT supercar is an unapologetically brutal and purpose-built machine. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2024 But mainframes, which are purpose-built to process enormous amounts of data, are still extremely relevant today. Andrew Hudson, Ars Technica, 24 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'purpose-built.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of purpose-built was in 1954

Dictionary Entries Near purpose-built

Cite this Entry

“Purpose-built.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purpose-built. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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