Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

all-purpose

American  
[awl-pur-puhs] / ˈɔlˈpɜr pəs /

adjective

  1. for every purpose.

    an all-purpose detergent.


all-purpose British  

adjective

  1. useful for many things

"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

Etymology

Origin of all-purpose

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s betting on strong demand for enterprise AI products that make up for their lack of all-purpose power with task-specific customization.

From The Wall Street Journal

The government is expected to announce in March whether Essex will go from two layers of 15 authorities to between three and five all-purpose unitary councils.

From BBC

I started making pancakes with thinner and thinner batter, and replaced all-purpose flour with glutinous rice flour.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each starter began with one of three substrates: all-purpose flour, bread flour or whole wheat flour.

From Science Daily

GPUs are all-purpose AI chips: They can be used both for training AI models as well as running those models for chatbots, image generation, and the like.

From Barron's