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.
Want to see more videos from Idioms.Online? Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
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.
More Idioms Starting with O
More On Idioms
More Purpose Idioms
This page contains one or more affiliate links. See full affiliate disclosure.
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. |