disuse

American

[dis-yoos, dis-yooz] / dɪsˈyus, dɪsˈyuz /

noun

discontinuance of use or practice.

Traditional customs are falling into disuse.

verb (used with object)

disused, disusing

to cease to use.

disuse British

/ dɪsˈjuːs /

noun

the condition of being unused; neglect (often in the phrases in or into disuse )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of disuse

1375–1425; late Middle English. See dis- ¹, use

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Since its closure along with the rail works in 1986, it fell into disuse and disrepair.

From BBC • Aug. 24, 2024

Its back room, once a gathering place for the miners and their families who populated the town a generation ago, has been locked up for many years, fallen to disuse.

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024

It fell into disuse after Congress granted an amnesty to most ex-rebels in 1872.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2024

This is why the Spanish, who arrived in the 1500s and set out to control the people by converting them to Catholicism, banned the cultivation and possession of the crop, which fell into disuse.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2024

His voice was strange and rusty, as if fallen into disuse.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023