How to Use all-purpose in a Sentence

all-purpose

adjective
  • By the end, there was an all-purpose stink in the theater.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
  • Our all-purpose dough recipe is a great place to start.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour first, adding about 1/2 cup at a time.
    — Kayla Samoy, Chicago Tribune, 4 Dec. 2024
  • The tour’s all-purpose backing band Rocky and the Rollers is also back.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2024
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the semolina and all-purpose flours, along with the kosher salt.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2024
  • The dry brine for turkey below, is a good all-purpose recipe.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Oct. 2024
  • The quote has since become an all-purpose meme for the hard and hardly working.
    — Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Chase Brown meanwhile racked up 123 all-purpose yards and a touchdown of his own.
    — Kevin Dotson, CNN, 10 Dec. 2024
  • The 18-ounce all-purpose wine glass is the perfect gift for any wine (and Louisville!) lover's collection.
    — The Courier-Journal, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Other all-purpose gluten-free flours did not fare as well.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2023
  • His 120 all-purpose touchdowns had set the program record by then.
    — Oliver Thomas, Forbes, 5 May 2023
  • Can swap with cornstarch or a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for a gluten-free option.
    — Cynthia Graubart, Southern Living, 15 Apr. 2024
  • 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
  • This sweet treat is made with lemon juice, powdered sugar, and all-purpose flour.
    — Brittany Natale, Redbook, 10 May 2023
  • This mixture of flour and fat thickens the gravy by sharing the starchy qualities of all-purpose flour with the sauce.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Oct. 2023
  • This vanilla wafer cake uses crushed up vanilla wafers instead of all-purpose flour to build the base of the cake.
    — Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2025
  • The all-purpose side dish offers just the right amount of crunch and tang to cut through rich dishes, including brisket.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 3 July 2024
  • In a bowl combine 1 cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup semolina flour; create a well in the center.
    — Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 June 2024
  • After cooking and the stove top is cool, give it a good wipe down with an all-purpose cleaner sprayed on a damp cloth.
    — Alicia Chilton, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Stick with all-purpose flour and keep the dish classically light.
    — Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
  • This is the all-purpose entry point for the app and can optimize a Mac from top to bottom with no effort.
    — Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Brown: improves contrast, makes greens and browns brighter, good for slightly cloudy days and all-purpose use.
    — Rozalynn S. Frazier, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2023
  • The all-purpose playmaker scored 12 touchdowns in 15 games this year.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2024
  • Wear this all-purpose tee with just about anything: jeans, joggers, shorts, skirts, and leggings.
    — Kelsey Glennon, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 2024
  • Jones’ 290 all-purpose yards remain a Super Bowl record.
    — Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 15 July 2024
  • Most problems can be solved with a little soap and water and an all-purpose cleaner.
    — Nancy Einhart, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Cake flour is lighter and has less protein than all-purpose, which helps give an angel food cake its fluffiness.
    — Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Nissan chose to shoe the Kicks in a set of all-purpose tires on 17-inch wheels, a smart combination that serves the vehicle well.
    — Kristin Shaw, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
  • What's missing, however, is the kind of all-purpose playmaker on the back end.
    — Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2023
  • 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

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

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