useful

[ yoos-fuhl ]

/ ˈyus fəl /

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adjective

being of use or service; serving some purpose; advantageous, helpful, or of good effect: a useful member of society.

of practical use, as for doing work; producing material results; supplying common needs: the useful arts; useful work.

Nearby words

use up, use-by date, usecc, used, used to, useful, useless, usenet, user, user experience, user group

Origin of useful

First recorded in 1585–95; use + -ful

SYNONYMS FOR useful

1, 2 profitable, efficacious, beneficial.

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ANTONYMS FOR useful

1, 2 useless.

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Related forms

use·ful·ly, adverbuse·ful·ness, nounun·use·ful, adjectiveun·use·ful·ly, adverb

un·use·ful·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for useful

For the aficionado or the neophyte, Comics is a useful overview of a richly creative period in a burgeoning art.
The Best Coffee Table Books of 2014|Robert Birnbaum|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For those unfamiliar with Michals, an annotated biography and useful essays are included.
The Best Coffee Table Books of 2014|Robert Birnbaum|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ten years earlier, when he had first started thinking about making this film, he had made such a trip and found it useful.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Claiming to be useful against Ebola, autism, and cancer, Young Living Essential Oils came under fire from the FDA.
Honey Boo Boo, Snake Oil, and Ebola: The Weird World of Young Living Essential Oils|Kent Sepkowitz|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Available at Amazon Vince Camuto Moto Baseball Cap, $34 Baseball caps may be useful on the road, but they scream “tourist!”
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Anthony Bourdain in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All of which information, useful in a way, no doubt, was accepted by Jack with a smile.
The Golf Course Mystery|Chester K. Steele
Why, you fool, he's just a little clerk that was useful, and was going to get a tip for his pains.
Hurricane Island|H. B. Marriott Watson
This would make God descend to the level of the useful, as if our wants were the measure of the Absolute.
Bouvard and Pcuchet|Gustave Flaubert
Heaven had denied all the useful domestic animals to America.
Calavar|Robert Montgomery Bird
These all work every other day at manual labor or some useful trade.
Little Journeys To The Homes Of Great Teachers|Elbert Hubbard

British Dictionary definitions for useful

useful

/ (ˈjuːsfʊl) /

adjective

able to be used advantageously, beneficially, or for several purposes; helpful or serviceable

informal commendable or capablea useful term's work

noun

Australian informal an odd-jobman or general factotum

Derived Forms

usefully, adverbusefulness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

useful

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of useful

SYNONYMS FOR useful

ANTONYMS FOR useful

Related forms

Examples from the Web for useful

British Dictionary definitions for useful

useful

adjective

noun

Derived Forms