Meaning of Idiom ‘On Purpose’
On purpose means deliberately or intentionally; no an accident; intended. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,2Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.
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Examples Of Use
“He tripped me on purpose causing me to spill my food tray.”
“Martin knocked over my blocks, Mommy!” I’m sure it was an accident,” said Mom. “No, he did it on purpose!”
“They got the science wrong in that movie!” “Yeah, but they did most of it on purpose. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been as exciting.”
Origin
Used since at least the latter half of the 1500s.
Shakespeare used this idiom in Comedy of Errors (4:3):
“On purpose shut the doors against his way.” 3Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
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Sources
| ↲1, ↲3 | Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. |
| ↲2 | Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008. |
