- [countable] (especially British English)
a small bag made of leather, plastic, etc. for carrying coins and often also paper money, cards, etc., used especially by women 钱包，皮夹子（尤指女用的） 
I took a coin out of my purse and gave it to the child. 我从钱包取出一枚硬币给那个小孩。 She handed him a bulging velvet purse. 她递给他一个鼓鼓的丝绒提包。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- leather
- change
- open
- snatch
- steal
- …
- in somebody’s purse
- (North American English) (also handbag British and North American English)[countable]
a small bag for money, keys, etc., carried especially by women 钱包，皮夹子（尤指女用的） Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashiona2She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. 她一把抓起手袋，走出了门。 I rummaged through my purse for my lip gloss. 我翻遍了手提包找我的唇彩。 She had her purse snatched. 她的钱包被抢了。 She slung her black leather purse over her shoulder. 她把她的黑色皮包挎到肩上。 She wore pink heels with a matching clutch purse. 她穿着粉红色的高跟鞋，手袋与之很相配。 She fumbled in her purse for her glasses. 她在手提包里胡乱摸找她的眼镜。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bulging
- leather
- silk
- …
- clutch
- hold
- carry
- …
- snatcher
- in somebody’s purse
- sling a purse over your shoulder
- throw a purse over your shoulder
- [singular]
the amount of money that is available to a person, an organization or a government to spend 资金；财源；备用款 We have holidays to suit every purse. 我们有适合不同消费计划的度假安排。 Should spending on the arts be met out of the public purse (= from government money)? 花在艺术活动的开支应该由政府支付吗？
Extra ExamplesTopics Moneyc1The reforms had drained the public purse. 这些改革已耗尽了国库。 There is no money in the purse for this. 钱包里没钱买这个。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- drain
- strings
- in the purse
- [countable] (
sport 体育 a sum of money given as a prize in a boxing match （拳击赛的）奖金 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- drain
- strings
- in the purse
Word Originlate 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.
Idioms
(you can't) make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
(you won't) succeed in making something good out of material that does not seem very good at all 用劣材制精品；化腐朽为神奇