public utility

American  

noun

1. a business enterprise, as a public-service corporation, performing an essential public service and regulated by the federal, state, or local government.

2. Usually public utilities. stocks or bonds of public-utility companies, excluding railroads.

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public utility British  

noun

1. Also called (US): public-service corporation. an enterprise concerned with the provision to the public of essentials, such as electricity or water

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public utility Cultural  

1. A private company supplying water, gas, electricity, telephone service, or the like, which is granted a monopoly by the government and then regulated by the government.

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Other Word Forms

• public-utility
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of public utility

First recorded in 1900–05

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public utility

“Does the CEO or the public utility commission have confidence? The numbers could look perfect, and they might still say no.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

SEOUL—South Korea plans to give its entire population free access to generative AI services, the first major state-led offering treating the technology akin to a public utility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

American Water Works and Essential Utilities reached an agreement to merge in an all-stock deal that will result in a combined water-and-wastewater public utility valued at roughly $40 billion.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2025

Southern California Edison, which is based in Rosemead, is an investor-owned public utility that provides electricity to about 15 million people across a 50,000-square-mile area in Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025

The municipal towns relied largely on the voluntary munificence of their wealthy members for great works of public utility or splendour.

From Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius by Samuel Dill

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