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

A hot strip mill makes steel slabs into thin coils used to manufacture products including vehicles, appliances and construction materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

That classification is commonly used to shield a variety of federal records from public release, including those containing personnel information, details about ongoing law enforcement operations and matters protected by attorney-client privilege.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

He said this was agreed "informally" via text messages but the phones used to send the texts had gone missing when his house was searched by investigators.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

"Our work can now be used to make more accurate predictions about many materials of interest for quantum technologies," added Yu Jin.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Like the other patients at Carville, she submits to monthly tests to determine if the disease is still present or if it’s been “arrested”—the term used to describe continued absence of infection.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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