purse
part of speech
noun (purse, purses); verb (purse your lips)
meaning for a pupil
1) A purse is a small bag for carrying money and coins (UK, Ireland, Australia). tree →
2) In American English, a purse is a woman's handbag. tree →
3) A purse is the money in a prize: the race had a big purse. tree →
4) To purse your lips is to squeeze them into a small round shape. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: a place where money is kept; amounts in the purse go up when money is put in and down when it is spent; the price of a purse. In everyday life: carrying coins and cards, keeping your purse safe. In stories: a magic purse that never empties; «she pursed her lips» shows she is cross or thinking.
examples
- Mom has $45 in her purse. tree →
- She takes $12 out of her purse to pay. tree →
- A purse costs $18. tree →
- How much money is left in her purse? tree →
- Grandma keeps her coins in a little purse. tree →
- She left her purse on the bus. tree →
- The winner of the race gets the whole purse. tree →
- Mum pursed her lips when she saw the mess. tree →
- Keep your purse zipped in busy places. tree →
- ‘Then give me back the purse,’ said John. tree →
note
A container for money, not a number; money taken out of the purse is subtracted, money put in is added. Trap: «a purse costs $18» is the price of the purse, not money inside it. US «purse» = UK «handbag»; UK «purse» = a small coin bag (US «change purse»); a man's is usually a wallet.
In the corpora
- Some sharks and rays lay eggs in leathery cases called mermaid's purses, while other sharks give birth to live pups.
- It is a mermaid's purse, an egg case that once held a baby shark or ray.
- A found wallet or purse is given to a parent, a shop or the police without taking anything.
- Taking money from a parent's purse without asking is stealing, even at home.
- When you go out, take only the money you need and keep it in a zipped pocket or purse.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «purse» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.