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

See Examples For:

public utility

Yet Corning’s fiber actually was deployed steadily over the following decades, as the internet became a public utility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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

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 ● Aug. 10, 2025

Burien chose land owned by Seattle City Light, Seattle’s public utility for electricity.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2024

In order to raise this shameful amount, extra taxes were levied on newspapers, deeds, and other matters of public utility.

From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume I (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Hamilton, Lady Anne