to employ for some purpose; put into service; make use of: to use a knife.
to avail oneself of; apply to one's own purposes: to use the facilities.
to expend or consume in use: We have used the money provided.
to treat or behave toward: He did not use his employees with much consideration.
to take unfair advantage of; exploit: to use people to gain one's own ends.
to drink, smoke, or ingest habitually: to use drugs.
to habituate or accustom.
Archaic. to practice habitually or customarily; make a practice of.
verb (used without object),used,us·ing.
to be accustomed or customarily found (used with an infinitive expressed or understood, and, except in archaic use, now only in the past): He used to go every day.
Archaic. to resort, stay, or dwell customarily.
noun
the act of employing, using, or putting into service: the use of tools.
the state of being employed or used.
an instance or way of employing or using something: proper use of the tool; the painter's use of color.
a way of being employed or used; a purpose for which something is used: He was of temporary use. The instrument has different uses.
the power, right, or privilege of employing or using something: to lose the use of the right eye; to be denied the use of a library card.
service or advantage in or for being employed or used; utility or usefulness: of no practical use.
help; profit; resulting good: What's the use of pursuing the matter?
occasion or need, as for something to be employed or used: Would you have any use for another calendar?
continued, habitual, or customary employment or practice; custom: to follow the prevailing use of such occasions.
Law.
the enjoyment of property, as by the employment, occupation, or exercise of it.
the benefit or profit of lands and tenements in the possession of another who simply holds them for the beneficiary.
the equitable ownership of land to which the legal title is in another's name.
Liturgy. the distinctive form of ritual or of any liturgical observance used in a particular church, diocese, community, etc.
usual or customary experience.
Verb Phrases
use up,
to consume entirely.
to exhaust of vigor or usefulness; finish: By the end of the war he felt used up and sick of life.
Idioms
have no use for,
to have no occasion or need for: She appears to have no use for the city.
to refuse to tolerate; discount: He had no use for his brother.
to have a distaste for; dislike: He has no use for dictators.
make use of, to use for one's own purposes; employ: Charitable organizations will make use of your old furniture and clothing.
of no use, of no advantage or help: It's of no use to look for that missing earring. It's no use asking her to go.Also no use.
put to use, to apply; employ to advantage: What a shame that no one has put that old deserted mansion to use!
Origin of use
1175–1225; (v.) Middle Englishusen < Old Frenchuser < Latinūsus, past participle of ūtī to use; (noun) Middle English < Old French < Latinūsus act of using a thing, application, employment, equivalent to ūt-, stem of ūtī to use + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt > s
Related formsmul·ti·use, adjectivenon·use, nounnon·us·ing, adjectivere·use, verb,re·used,re·us·ing,nounun·der·use, verb (used with object),un·der·used,un·der·us·ing,nounCan be confuseduseusageutilize (see usage note at usage) (see synonym study at the current entry)
1. Use,utilize mean to make something serve one's purpose. Use is the general word: to use a telephone; to use a saw and other tools; to use one's eyes; to use eggs in cooking. (What is used often has depreciated or been diminished, sometimes completely consumed: a used automobile; All the butter has been used. ) As applied to persons, use implies some selfish or sinister purpose: to use another to advance oneself.Utilize implies practical or profitable use: to utilize the means at hand, a modern system of lighting.3. exhaust, waste. 7. familiarize, inure. 12. employment, utilization, application, exercise. 13. handling.
philosophylogiclinguisticsthe occurrence of an expression in such a context that it performs its own linguistic function rather than being itself referred to. In " Fido " refers to Fido, the name Fido is 'used' only on the second occurrence, first being mentionedCompare mention (def. 7) See also material mode
mid-13c., from Old French user "use, employ, practice," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," frequentative form of past participle stem of Latin uti "to use," in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of unknown origin. Related: Used; using. Replaced Old English brucan (see brook (v.)).
n.
early 13c., from Old French us, from Latin usus "use, custom, skill, habit," from past participle stem of uti (see use (v.)).
