utilization

American  

[yoot-l-ahy-zey-shuhn] / ˌyut l aɪˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, utilisation

noun

1. an act or instance of making practical or profitable use of something.

   I don't think this plan results in the best utilization of tax dollars.

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Other Word Forms

• misutilization noun
• nonutilization noun
• overutilization noun
• preutilization noun
• reutilization noun

Etymology

Origin of utilization

First recorded in 1840–45; utiliz(e) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Explanation

Utilization is a fancy way of saying "use." A team's utilization of a gym for practices might need to continue until it stops raining. You can see the verb utilize in utilization. When you utilize something, you use it, whether it is a tool, like when you utilize a pen to write something down, or a skill or talent, like the speed you utilize when you run a race. So utilization is the act of using, like the utilization of your voice that enables you to sing a song.

Example Sentences

Health insurers’ profits have been dragged down by higher medical costs, driven by a range of factors, including more utilization of medical services and higher costs of pharmaceuticals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

By the same token, Humana is at the “greatest risk” if utilization trends do pick up, she wrote.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

These utilization challenges are important for you — after all, you don’t want to end up with a shock tax bill and a lingering resentment against your adviser or accountant.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

Industrial capacity utilization was 75.7% in March, lower than February’s reading and the consensus estimate of 76.3%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The utilization of planetary resources so that new interstellar spacecraft could be constructed locally would be a slow process.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• application
• discharge
• employment
• usage