Library / English Dictionary

PURSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)

Example:

she reached into her bag and found a comb

Synonyms:

bag; handbag; pocketbook; purse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("purse" is a kind of...):

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

Meronyms (parts of "purse"):

clasp (a fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "purse"):

clutch; clutch bag (a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand)

etui (small ornamental ladies' bag for small articles)

evening bag (a handbag used with evening wear)

reticule (a woman's drawstring handbag; usually made of net or beading or brocade; used in 18th and 19th centuries)

shoulder bag (a large handbag that can be carried by a strap looped over the shoulder)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small bag for carrying money

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("purse" is a kind of...):

bag (a flexible container with a single opening)

Meronyms (parts of "purse"):

purse string (a drawstring used to close the mouth of a purse)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A sum of money offered as a prize

Example:

the purse barely covered the winner's expenses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("purse" is a kind of...):

amount; amount of money; sum; sum of money (a quantity of money)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A sum of money spoken of as the contents of a money purse

Example:

he and his wife shared a common purse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("purse" is a kind of...):

amount; amount of money; sum; sum of money (a quantity of money)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Contract one's lips into a rounded shape

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "purse" is one way to...):

round; round off; round out (make round)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "purse"):

pooch; pooch out (round one's lips as if intending to kiss)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker

Example:

purse ones's lips

Synonyms:

purse; wrinkle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "purse" is one way to...):

contract (make smaller)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

More and more frightened, she immediately promised them money, and taking out her purse, gave them a shilling, and begged them not to want more, or to use her ill.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

“Meanwhile it grieves me that as I have already given my purse to a beggar up the road I—”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Very often, the only thing you find is a fine white powder that comes off when taking them out of the handbag or purse.

(Purchase receipts with easily erasable ink contain cancer- and infertility inducing substances, University of Granada)

The pursed lips relaxed, and she sighed inaudibly.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

One was found in his purse.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When he was young he became a member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long purses and expensive habits.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"How much will pay them off and restore your credit?" asked Meg, taking out her purse.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

She puckered her brows and pursed up her mouth as she thought, while he looked on and decided that her expression was most adorable.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He so frequently talked of the increasing expenses of housekeeping, and of the perpetual demands upon his purse, which a man of any consequence in the world was beyond calculation exposed to, that he seemed rather to stand in need of more money himself than to have any design of giving money away.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)