utility
Origin of utility
OTHER WORDS FROM utility
non·u·til·i·ty, noun, plural non·u·til·i·ties.Words nearby utility
MORE ABOUT UTILITY
What does utility mean?
A utility is something that is of service or serves a purpose.
Broadly, a utility is anything that is useful. It is paired with many nouns that are commonly useful, such as a utility knife (a knife useful for cutting many things), a utility belt (a belt with pockets and loops to hold many things), and a utility room (a room in a house where the furnace, washing machine and other appliances are kept).
In relation to modern life, a utility is a public service used by a household, such as water, electricity, or trash and recycling pickups. A bill for one of these services might be referred to as a utility bill.
Utility can also refer to specific benefits that you would receive from taking part in an event or service, as in What is the utility of joining a union?
In economics, utility specifically refers to a product’s or service’s ability to satisfy consumer needs.
Example: That machine has great utility if you know how to use it.
Where does utility come from?
The first records of the term utility come from the 1300s. It ultimately comes from the Latin ūtilis, meaning “useful.” Utility can be used as a noun form of the word useful, as well as other meanings.
You might have heard of a public utility. This is a business that provides an essential public service, or utility, such as trash removal or TV cable service. Because what they provide is considered necessary to support human life, public utilities are regulated by the government. People who work for these businesses are often generally called utility workers.
If you’ve looked around in your computer, you might have found a program called a utility. A utility program is software that runs some standard tasks and is usually important to the correct functioning of the software it is associated with, especially for the computer system.
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What are some other forms related to utility?
- utilitarian (adjective)
- nonutility (noun)
What are some synonyms for utility?
What are some words that share a root or word element with utility?
What are some words that often get used in discussing utility?
How is utility used in real life?
Utility is normally used in the context of work or finances. It’s also used frequently in terms of public services, such as electric and water services.
I want to give my special thanks to the more than 350 New York utility workers who are spending their Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico helping to restore the power grid. Your hard work makes us proud.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) November 23, 2017
BREAKING: FCC to forbid firms from slowing Internet traffic, regulate them like utility in new rules expected to be announced Thursday – DJ
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) February 2, 2015
I just got home and and my dog wanted to celebrate so he grabbed a mouthful of dryer lint from the utility room floor and started throwing it around 🎉- I wouldn’t trade my Saturday night for anybody’s!
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 17, 2018
Try using utility!
Is utility used correctly in the following sentence?
Not everyone agrees that internet access is a utility like electricity, but most people can’t manage their lives without it.