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
Examples of general-purpose in a Sentence
a general-purpose glue for routine household repairs
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the primary contaminants is trichloroethylene, or TCE, which was formerly used as a general-purpose solvent and degreaser.
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Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 11 June 2024
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, better known as Ada Lovelace, was commissioned in 1842 to translate a paper about the world’s first general-purpose computer.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 4 June 2024
But Biden’s Executive Order in October 2023 made Commerce the de facto authority on the general-purpose AI systems like those powering ChatGPT.
—Will Henshall, TIME, 6 June 2024
Developing a general-purpose robot, one that can competently and robustly execute a wide variety of tasks of interest in any home or office environment that humans can, has been perhaps the holy grail of robotics since the inception of the field.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for general-purpose 
Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 11 June 2024
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, better known as Ada Lovelace, was commissioned in 1842 to translate a paper about the world’s first general-purpose computer.
—Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 4 June 2024
But Biden’s Executive Order in October 2023 made Commerce the de facto authority on the general-purpose AI systems like those powering ChatGPT.
—Will Henshall, TIME, 6 June 2024
Developing a general-purpose robot, one that can competently and robustly execute a wide variety of tasks of interest in any home or office environment that humans can, has been perhaps the holy grail of robotics since the inception of the field.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for general-purpose
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'general-purpose.' 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 general-purpose
Cite this Entry
“General-purpose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/general-purpose. Accessed 28 Jun. 2024.
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