/ pɜːs; NAmE pɜːrs/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] ( especially BrE ) a small bag made of leather, plastic, etc. for carrying coins and often also paper money, cards, etc., used especially by women :
I took a coin out of my purse and gave it to the child.
—compare change purse , wallet
2.
[ C ] ( NAmE ) = handbag
3.
[ sing. ] the amount of money that is available to a person, an organization or a government to spend :
We have holidays to suit every purse.
Should spending on the arts be met out of the public purse (= from government money) ?
4.
[ C ] ( sport ) a sum of money given as a prize in a boxing match
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IDIOMS
see silk
■ verb
[ vn ] purse your lips to form your lips into a small tight round shape, for example to show disapproval
••
WORD 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 cent.