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View synonyms for purse

purse

[ purs ]

noun

  1. Also called change purse [cheynj, purs]. a small bag, pouch, or case for carrying money.
  2. anything resembling a purse in appearance, use, etc.
  3. a sum of money offered as a prize or reward.
  4. a sum of money collected as a present or the like.
  5. money, resources, or wealth.


verb (used with object)

, pursed, purs·ing.
  1. to contract into folds or wrinkles; pucker:

    to purse one's lips.

  2. to put into a purse.

purse

/ pɜːs /

noun

  1. a small bag or pouch, often made of soft leather, for carrying money, esp coins
  2. a woman's handbag
  3. anything resembling a small bag or pouch in form or function
  4. wealth; funds
  5. a sum of money that is offered, esp as a prize
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. tr to contract (the mouth, lips, etc) into a small rounded shape
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • purse·less adjective
  • purse·like adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of purse1

First recorded before 1100; (noun) Middle English, Old English purs, blend of pusa “bag” (cognate with Old Norse posi ) and Medieval Latin bursa “bag” (ultimately from Greek býrsa “hide, leather”); (verb) Middle English pursen “to put in a purse,” derivative of the noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of purse1

Old English purs, probably from Late Latin bursa bag, ultimately from Greek: leather
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with purse , also see can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear .
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Example Sentences

I learned to stuff down my emotions with handful after handful of cereal or clandestine candy bars, wrappers crumpled in my purse.

HighSpeedDaddyIt can be hard to find a lunch box that doesn’t look like a purse or a toy.

I have a stick that stays on my vanity at home, and since it’s small enough to throw in a purse, I keep one in my pool bag too.

This pick comes with scientific guidance on feeding and can fit in your purse.

This item fits neatly in your bag or purse and provides the occasional dew when you need it the most.

On one summer lunch hour, Donna Ann Levonuk, 50, lifted a tub of diaper cream priced at $43.98—and then stashed it in her purse.

The padlocked door down the hall was now open, and I found my purse.

She retrieved a cigarette from her purse and lit it without moving her face away from the screen.

Available at La Boîte SHOLDIT Clutch Wrap Purse, $70 We can all agree the dorky passport holders and money bags have got to go.

These are longer than traditional ads, mini-stories, designed to pull at heart- as well as purse strings.

Absently his hands wandered through the pockets, and found his purse and the money in an outside pocket.

I turned round, thrust my purse into the lap of the nearest, and with a light heart led the lady back to the hotel.

Ernest called out; "you have forgotten your money;" and he held out a purse, but the man was gone.

A Cremona Violin is, to a rich amateur, a loadstone that is sure to attract the shining metal from the depths of his purse.

She did not smile as she opened a black purse and produced an envelope which she handed to Delancy.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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purreepurse crab