to all intents and purposes

idiom

used to say that one thing has the same effect or result as something else
Their decision to begin bombing was, to all intents and purposes, a declaration of war.

Examples of to all intents and purposes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Many are looking no further than Bluesky, which has its own origins in Twitter and, to all intents and purposes, acts in a very similar fashion. Perri Grace, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2023

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

Dictionary Entries Near to all intents and purposes

Toala

to all intents and purposes

Toamasina

Cite this Entry

“To all intents and purposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to%20all%20intents%20and%20purposes. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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