purpose

1. (Sense of having a) meaning for existing or doing something.Examples: "Before being hospitalized, Thea filled her days with work that gave her life purpose. Whether it was teaching, writing, or investing in relationships, Thea was busily and actively engaged in activity that she could feel good about."; "This place gave him purpose, gave him joy. It was both his life and his lifeline and she was both thrilled and relieved that he'd recovered enough to be able to maintain the place."; "A sense of belonging helps to ground the individual by providing a particular way of being in the world which, in turn, helps individuals to make meaning of their life experiences and gives them a sense of purpose, including a sense of responsibility to the group to which one belongs."Synonyms: meaningcountableuncountable

2. (obsolete) The subject of discourse; the point at issue.Examples: "[…]he was woont to ſpeake plaine, and to the purpoſe (like an honeſt man and a ſouldier) […]"; "The speech he made was so little to the purpose, that I shall not trouble my Readers with an account of it; and I believe was not so much designed by the Knight himself to inform the Court, as to give him a figure in my eye[…]"; "The duke was restless and thoughtful the whole evening, often changed the discourse; like an absent man; and abruptly, quite from the purpose; asked the marshal, "If in his military expeditions, he had ever undertaken any affair of consequence in the night.""Synonyms: matter, subject, topiccountableobsoleteuncountable