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

Etymology

Origin of public utility

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

In South Carolina, public utility Santee Cooper is in talks to sell its partially built AP1000s to Brookfield, which could complete them to power AI data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal

The model now providing depoliticized ATC in nearly 100 countries is an aviation public utility, funded entirely by system fees and charges.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Google-owned maker of self-driving taxis recently hit 1 million driverless rides in California in September, according to a report this week from the state’s public utilities commission.

From The Wall Street Journal

The second was at Commercial Road where a section of trunk road needed to be replaced and public utilities moved which had to be carried out before the main work could begin.

From BBC

More recently, the public utility said it couldn’t provide a price tag, and that, although possible, undergrounding transmission lines is rare, complex and expensive.

From Los Angeles Times