underuse

American

[uhn-der-yooz, uhn-der-yoos] / ˌʌn dərˈjuz, ˌʌn dərˈjus /

verb (used with object)

to use (a resource, someone's talent, etc.) too little or without realizing its full potential.

noun

the act or fact of using something too little or without realizing its full potential.

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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.

See Examples For:

underuse underused underusing

Last month, the California Department of Public Health issued an advisory to physicians and other healthcare providers, lamenting the underuse of such medications despite an “ample supply.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2024

Despite national medical guidelines supporting the use of antiviral medications in young children diagnosed with influenza, a new study reports an underuse of the treatment.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2023

Experts have increasingly pointed to another explanation for Paxlovid’s underuse: Doctors still resist prescribing it.

From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2023

“I think we underuse gesture in our classrooms,” Goldin-Meadow says.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 12, 2021

Instead, underuse of medical interpreters seems to stem from misunderstanding how proper translation improves medical outcomes, and that it’s not only fiscally possible, it’s actually fiscally prudent, since it’s illegal not to offer.

From Slate ● Dec. 27, 2017

We’ve seen a recent shift from opt-in parental controls that were largely underused to automatic settings that eliminate the headaches that plagued parents every time their kids signed up for new social-media accounts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

This largely underused part of the electromagnetic spectrum sits between conventional electronics and photonics.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

It’s too soon to say whether the Trump-branded accounts will be underused, Pinder said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Substantial potential for affordable housing lies in L.A.’s underused office buildings, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Instead I kept the burden for myself, and my friendship with Nick, already anemic, underfed and underused, dwindled in obsolescence.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

For example, California’s Imperial Irrigation District has been underusing its allotment in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2021

It’s delicious, except that Swift commits the capital offence of underusing the Haim sisters purely as background singers, aside from one spoken interjection from Danielle.

From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2020

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