public utility

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.

public utility

noun

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

public utility

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.

Other Word Forms

• public-utility adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of public utility¹

First recorded in 1900–05