WordDisk
  • Reading
    • Shortcuts
      •   Home
      •   All Articles
      •   Read from Another Site
      Sources
      • Wikipedia
      • Simple Wikipedia
      • VOA Learning English
      • Futurity
      • The Conversation
      • MIT News
      • Harvard Gazette
      • Cambridge News
      • YDS/YÖKDİL Passages
      Topics
      • Technology
      • Engineering
      • Business
      • Economics
      • Human
      • Health
      • Energy
      • Biology
      • Nature
      • Space
  •  Log in
  •  Sign up
3.93
History
Add

purse noun [ pəːs ]

• a small pouch of leather or plastic used for carrying money, typically by a woman.
• "she had enough in her purse for bus fare"
Similar: wallet, pouch, money bag, change purse, pocketbook,
• a handbag.
• "a young woman with a purse hanging from her elbow"
Similar: handbag, bag, clutch bag, shoulder bag, evening bag, pochette, pocketbook, reticule, scrip,

purse verb

• (with reference to the lips) pucker or contract, typically to express disapproval or irritation.
• "Marianne took a glance at her reflection and pursed her lips disgustedly"
Similar: press together, compress, contract, tighten, pucker, screw up, wrinkle, pout,
Origin: late Old English, alteration of late Latin bursa ‘purse’, from Greek bursa ‘hide, leather’. The current verb sense (from the notion of drawing purse strings) dates from the early 17th century.

hold the purse strings

• have control of expenditure.
"the power and the influence lie with the person who holds the purse strings"

loosen the purse strings

• increase the amount of money available to be spent.
"there is fresh evidence that shoppers could loosen the purse strings more than expected"

tighten the purse strings

• restrict the amount of money available to be spent.
"the government intends to tighten the purse strings"



2025 WordDisk