purse

purse

I

purse¹ S3 /pɜːs $ pɜːrs/ noun1. [countable]
  a. especially British English a small bag in which women keep paper money, coins, cards etc
   SYN  wallet American English:
    Julie opened her handbag and took out her purse.
  b. (also change purse, coin purse American English) a small bag used to hold coins, used especially by women
2. [countable] American English a bag in which a woman carries her money and personal things
   SYN  handbag British English:
    I locked the door and dropped the keys in my purse.
3. [singular] formal the amount of money that a person, organization, or country has available to spend:
    Election expenses are met from the public purse (=money controlled by the government).
    A visit to the new county museum will set the family purse back by around £12.
4. [countable] the amount of money given to someone who wins a sports event, such as a boxing match or a car race:
    They will compete for a $100,000 purse.
5. the purse strings used to refer to the control of spending in a family, company, country etc
    hold/control the purse strings
    It all comes down to who holds the purse strings.
    She keeps tight control over the purse strings.

II

purse² verb [transitive]
if you purse your lips, you bring them together tightly into a small circle, especially to show disapproval or doubt:
    Mrs Biddell pursed her lips and shook her head.