user

¹ American  

[yoo-zer] / ˈyu zər /

noun

1. a person or thing that uses.

2. a person who is addicted to or abuses a controlled substance or alcohol; one who uses illegal or addictive drugs, as in

3. Digital Technology. a person who uses a computer, device, or application.

   This interface should be more intuitive for users.

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user ² American  

[oo-zer] / ˈu zər /

noun

Law.

1. the exercise of a right to the enjoyment of property.

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user British  

/ ˈjuːzə /

noun

1. law

   1. the continued exercise, use, or enjoyment of a right, esp in property

   2. a presumptive right based on long-continued use

      right of user

2. (often in combination) a person or thing that uses

   a road-user

3. informal a drug addict

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Usage

What is a user? A user is someone or something that employs or puts someone or something into service, as in The instructions are written for users of the microwave. In technology, a user is the person who uses a particular piece of hardware (such as a computer) or software (such as a website or app), as in Users complain about frequent updates. User can also refer to someone who regularly takes illegal or addictive drugs. (The verb use can mean to regularly take such drugs, as in I stopped using five years ago.)Example: The user should be able to send and receive messages quickly.

Etymology

Origin of user¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English usere; use, -er ¹

Origin of user²

Noun use of Anglo-French user to use

Explanation

A user is someone who employs or uses a particular thing, like a user of nicotine or a user of an internet site. Since you are reading this, you are a user of Vocabulary.com. Congrats! To use something is to employ it or operate it, so a user is someone who uses or takes advantage of something. If you have a computer and use it for anything, you're a computer user. If you play a video game, you're a video game user. As you can see, this word often applies to technology. That's why they call the first part of a login the username. The people who design technology always have to keep the users in mind; it's important to make tech gadgets that are user-friendly.

Example Sentences

One TikTok user even cooked them into tacos.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

An Anthropic blog post said weaknesses could be found in “every major operating system and every major web browser when directed by a user to do so.”

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Another frustrated user described the Kindle as "probably one of the most low-tech devices ever made" and queried why Amazon was discontinuing its support for it.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Bringing digital-asset activity into a well-defined regulatory perimeter would strengthen oversight, improve compliance with anti-money-laundering standards and reduce user incentives to rely on opaque—and often vulnerable—offshore markets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

“It gives the user the power to change one thing into something else.”

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• addict
• drug abuser
• drug addict
• drug user
• junkie
• narcotics addict