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

See Examples For:

used to

"I used to play golf and get out and about. Now I can't do any of the things I love," says Alan.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

But the waters of the United States could soon be less expansive than they used to be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

“That’s really the area where we used to try and have the conversation in meetings, and investors would just say, ‘Another day, another day, another day.’

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Researchers place color reference charts around newly planted coral to record the pigmentation, a method used to monitor its health and detect early signs of heat stress.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

They’d been working for only half an hour, but despite this, he found that his stamina was not what it used to be.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman