all-purpose

adjective

all-pur·​pose ˈȯl-ˈpər-pəs 

: suited for many purposes or uses

Synonyms

• all-around
• all-round
• catholic
• general
• general-purpose
• unlimited
• unqualified
• unrestricted
• unspecialized

Examples of all-purpose in a Sentence

there's nothing wrong with all-purpose flour for baking bread, but flour with more gluten is better

Recent Examples on the Web

Dolly Parton’s Country Fried Steak Makes 6 servings 1 1/2 pounds round steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 6 equal portions 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or beef tallow 2 cups milk Directions: 1. —Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025

The players all have 40-hour-a-week jobs and one of the missions of the club is to build a facility with an all-purpose field. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 19 Mar. 2025

Keep reading for more must-have gardening tools for seed season, including a propagation station, herb seed packets, all-purpose plant food, an indoor greenhouse kit, and more. —Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2025

In 1718, in what is now Franklin, Connecticut, a well was dug as an all-purpose public source of water for the community. —Alec Janis, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for all-purpose

• multipurpose
• purpose

Kids Definition

all-purpose

adjective

all-pur·​pose

-ˈpər-pəs

: suitable for many uses

an all-purpose tool