Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

purse

Syllabification: (purse)
Pronunciation: /pərs/
Translate purse | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of purse

noun

  • North American a small bag used especially by a woman to carry everyday personal items.
  • a small pouch of leather or plastic used for carrying money, typically by a woman.
  • the money possessed or available to a person or country:institutions are funded from the same general purse
  • a sum of money given as a prize in a sporting contest, especially a boxing match.

verb

  • (with reference to the lips) pucker or contract, typically to express disapproval or irritation: [with object]:Marianne took a glance at her reflection and pursed her lips disgustedly [no object]:under stress his lips would purse slightly

Phrases

hold the purse strings

have control of expenditure.

tighten (or loosen) the purse strings

restrict (or increase) the amount of money available to be spent.

Origin:

late Old English, alteration of late Latin bursa 'purse', from Greek bursa 'hide, leather'. The current verb sense (from the notion of drawing purse strings) dates from the early 17th century

purse in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of purse in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

ludology

/ luːˈdɒlədʒi /
noun
the study of games and gaming, especially video games …