Many authors have examined e-procurement processes and attempted to define their applications within discrete categories and formulate precise definitions. This presentation outlines some problematic issues and addresses some perennial difficulties which inhibit the formulation of a holistic definition of e-procurement and e-commerce and considers the linguistic, temporal, societal, aspirational and philosophical dimensions of the problem in proposing a working solution. It poses the question “does a reliance on an ill-defined notion of what constitutes procurement and moreover e-procurement promote a false sense of security and/or foreseeable common misunderstandings?”