use
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- inure, familiarize
-
Archaic. to practice habitually or customarily; make a practice of.
verb (used without object)
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- exercise, application, utilization, employment
-
an instance or way of employing or using something.
proper use of the tool; the painter's use of color.
- Synonyms:
- handling
-
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 phrase
idioms
-
put to use, to apply; employ to advantage.
What a shame that no one has put that old deserted mansion to use!
-
of no use, of no advantage or help: Also no use.
It's of no use to look for that missing earring. It's no use asking her to go.
-
make use of, to use for one's own purposes; employ.
Charitable organizations will make use of your old furniture and clothing.
-
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.
-
verb
-
to put into service or action; employ for a given purpose
to use a spoon to stir with
-
to make a practice or habit of employing; exercise
he uses his brain
-
to behave towards
to use a friend well
-
to behave towards in a particular way for one's own ends
he uses people
-
to consume, expend, or exhaust
the engine uses very little oil
-
to partake of (alcoholic drink, drugs, etc) or smoke (tobacco, marijuana, etc)
noun
-
the act of using or the state of being used
the carpet wore out through constant use
-
the ability, right, or permission to use
-
the occasion to use; need
I have no use for this paper
-
an instance or manner of using
-
usefulness; advantage
it is of no use to complain
-
custom; practice; habit
long use has inured him to it
-
the purpose for which something is used; end
-
Christianity a distinctive form of liturgical or ritual observance, esp one that is traditional in a Church or group of Churches
-
the enjoyment of property, land, etc, by occupation or by deriving revenue or other benefit from it
-
law the beneficial enjoyment of property the legal title to which is held by another person as trustee
-
law an archaic word for trust
-
philosophy logic linguistics the 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 mentioned Compare mention See also material mode
-
-
to have no need of
-
to have a contemptuous dislike for
-
-
-
to employ; use
-
to exploit (a person)
-
Usage
What is another way to say use? To use something is to employ it for some purpose or to put it into service. How is use different from utilize? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Commonly Confused
See usage .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
usesimple
-
usessimple
-
have usedperfect
-
has usedperfect
-
am usingprogressive
-
are usingprogressive
-
is usingprogressive
-
have been usingperfect progressive
-
has been usingperfect progressive
Past
-
usedsimple
-
had usedperfect
-
was usingprogressive
-
were usingprogressive
-
had been usingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of use
First recorded in 1175–1225; (verb) Middle English usen, from Old French user, from Latin ūsus, past participle of ūtī “to use”; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, from Latin ūsus “act of using a thing, application, employment,” equivalent to ūt-, stem of ūtī “to use” + -tus suffix of verbal action, with tt becoming s
Explanation
Say the daughter of your favorite musician just enrolled at your school. If you just use her to get to meet her rock star dad, that's pretty unkind. Use is an old word with a lot of, well, uses. You can use a bike to get to school, or use up an entire tube of toothpaste in one vigorous brushing session. You might have to show Grandma how to use the 3-in-1 remote control. As a noun use means "purpose." As a verb, use means either "put to work," or "work something until there isn't anything left," unless you use your friend, meaning you exploit her.
Vocabulary lists containing use
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:
Nanos said he declined to use the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., because the Florida lab already had samples from family members, workers and others known to have visited the house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
In such cases there is a standard of care in product design that judges or juries can use to make a ruling, Tokson continued.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Anyone travelling from outside the city is encouraged to use public transport.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Candidates cannot use funds they raised in the primary to pay for general election expenditures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Tonight, all she wanted was to curl up in her shared room in the house in Inkster-Faraday and not use language at all.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Friends of the River Teign, external is one such group uses volunteers equipped with real-time testing kits to provide "more frequent, more localised water quality information across River Teign estuary and surrounding coastal waters".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Instead of using only pressure or heat to separate salt from water, electrochemical desalination uses electrical reactions and specially selected electrodes to draw charged salt particles out of the solution.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Lee said her family, which uses water-saving drip irrigation, should be allowed to pump more to keep the farm going.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Alphabet-owned Waymo uses cars from Jaguar and, soon, Hyundai, retrofitted with sensors to function as autonomous vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
We have all sorts of uses for thimbles.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
“I’m not used to everybody hanging on to my words and then trying to hold me accountable for what I say,” Nanos said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
“They used to live in a nearby town, and they used to come to my club a lot, and I became good friends with these guys,” Pastore said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
When he travelled to Alberta, Canada with a contingent of Australian firefighters to help tackle the country's worst wildfires on record, backburning was not widely used.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
In December, researchers at Stanford University used state-of-the art AI technology to show models achieving close-to-human levels of hacking on a real-world network.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
They used the money to keep the presses going.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
People are being urged to plan their journeys carefully, using Translink's website.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Vendors risk taking a hit to margins if they charge a fixed outcome fee while using underlying AI-model APIs that charge by token consumption.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Companies are moving more of their computing work to the cloud and using less of their own equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
He likes to get heavily involved and was particularly animated, using phrases like "play in possession" and "quicker, quicker" repeatedly.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Clare dropped a dish towel and then, using his foot, scooted it beneath Frabwick.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
