as in unlimited
not limited or specialized in application or purpose
there's nothing wrong with all-purpose flour for baking bread, but flour with more gluten is better
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Recent Examples of all-purpose
Some all-purpose cleaners or cleaners that shine can also leave a residue that makes your floors appear dirty or streaky so avoid those.
—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
22 June 2026
Thorstenson recommends applying organic fish emulsion throughout the growing season as a balanced all-purpose fertilizer.
—
Sj McShane,
Martha Stewart,
18 June 2026
Haynes had an electric junior season accounting for 3,552 all-purpose yards and 45 touchdowns while leading Whitney to a 10-3 record.
—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 June 2026
To make them, sift together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl.
—
Carole Kotkin,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for all-purpose
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
22 June 2026
Thorstenson recommends applying organic fish emulsion throughout the growing season as a balanced all-purpose fertilizer.
—
Sj McShane,
Martha Stewart,
18 June 2026
Haynes had an electric junior season accounting for 3,552 all-purpose yards and 45 touchdowns while leading Whitney to a 10-3 record.
—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 June 2026
To make them, sift together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl.
—
Carole Kotkin,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for all-purpose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for all-purpose
Adjective
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One handed Republicans a potentially powerful new financial advantage by allowing political parties to spend unlimited amounts in coordination with candidates.
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Subscribe now to support our journalism and get unlimited access to our coverage.
Adjective
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Little’s lack of response to a possible return that offseason resulted in general manager Ned Colletti pursuing other options.
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While unions secured general salary increases last year to offset the salary reductions associated with the leave program, the agreements did not include similar increases in July 2026.
Adjective
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The main reason for the current CPU renaissance is that agentic AI systems perform many of those general-purpose tasks, such as browsing the web, managing files, and combing through databases.
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Rather than relying on a single general-purpose AI system, organizations are beginning to deploy specialized agents for planning, retrieval, analytics, coding, compliance and workflow execution.
Cite this Entry
“All-purpose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/all-purpose. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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