utilize
verb (used with object)
to put to use; turn to profitable account.
had been utilizing
-
past perfect progressiveof utilize.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
The defendant himself had not been "hampered in the jail-house" but had walked free on his own recognizance, and, if report were true, he had been utilizing his freedom to organize his sympathizers for resistance.
From The Roof Tree by Lee F. Conrey
One of the National Temperance societies had been utilizing the promising declamatory powers of the high school students of the country, through a series of county, district and state competitions, to influence the public.
From Our Nervous Friends — Illustrating the Mastery of Nervousness by Robert S. Carroll
The foreman had been utilizing it as an exigency chart.
From Ralph on the Overland Express The Trials and Triumphs of a Young Engineer by Allen Chapman
There was a silence to answer the query, and the hydrographer righted his chair abruptly and closed the opened drawer he had been utilizing for a foot-rest.
From The City of Numbered Days by Francis Lynde
