used to

British  

/ juːst /

adjective

1. made familiar with; accustomed to

   I am used to hitchhiking

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verb

1. (takes an infinitive or implied infinitive) used as an auxiliary to express habitual or accustomed actions, states, etc, taking place in the past but not continuing into the present

   I don't drink these days, but I used to

   I used to fish here every day

used to Idioms  

1. Accustomed or habituated to. This expression is often put as , as in I'm not used to driving a manual-shift car , or She can't get used to calling him Dad . [Early 1500s]

2. Formerly. This sense is used with a following verb to indicate a past state, as in I used to ride my bicycle to the post office , or This used to be the best restaurant in town . [Late 1800s]

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Usage

The most common negative form of used to is didn't used to (or didn't use to ), but in formal contexts used not to is preferred

Example Sentences

Synopsys is the largest provider of electronic design automation software, which is used to design semiconductors.

From Barron's

I used to boast I could do the job equally as badly as a lot of other managers.

From BBC

The national-security regulations, which were expanded last year, feature broad provisions against subversion and foreign collusion that have been used to clamp down on popular expressions of dissent.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, the second producer Waypoint, real name Jacob Donaghue, confirmed on social media that AI was used to "give our original vocal a female tone".

From BBC

Your father may not have as many social outlets as he used to have.

From MarketWatch