utilize

American  

[yoot-l-ahyz] / ˈyut lˌaɪz /

especially British, utilise

verb (used with object)

utilized, utilizing

1. to put to use; turn to profitable account.

   to utilize a stream to power a mill.

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utilize British  

/ ˈjuːtɪˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to make practical or worthwhile use of

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Usage

What is another way to say utilize? To utilize something is to put it to use or turn it to profitable account. How is utilize different from use? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

• half-utilized adjective
• nonutilized adjective
• overutilize verb (used with object)
• preutilizable adjective
• preutilize verb (used with object)
• quasi-utilized adjective
• reutilize verb (used with object)
• underutilized adjective
• unutilizable adjective
• unutilized adjective
• utilizable adjective
• utilization noun
• utilizer noun
• well-utilized adjective

Etymology

Origin of utilize

First recorded in 1800–10; from French utiliser, equivalent to utile “useful” ( utile ) + -iser -ize

Explanation

To utilize is to use what you have or what's available, and it's a three-syllable word meaning the same thing as the one-syllable "use." The word utilize is often a more formal way to express "putting something to use." If you don’t have time to go to the store but you need to come up with a science project, you might utilize what's already in the kitchen. Most of the time you can use the verb use as a synonym for utilize. You can utilize a shorter word to make a sentence easier to read.

Example Sentences

Larger facilities would need improved wastewater capabilities, but DHS said that “there are numerous solutions which will be implemented to utilize the existing infrastructure.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Because of this, solar cells can only utilize about one-third of incoming sunlight.

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026

Anthropic announced a new update on Monday that allows its AI agent Claude to utilize a user’s computer to complete tasks.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

It’s still going to have that potential dynamic where they’ve been accused of leveraging their talent to get venues to utilize Ticketmaster.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

Let’s explore ways to utilize familiar pedagogies to approximate the core cultural values associated with music in West African culture.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• apply
• appropriate
• employ
• exploit
• handle
• promote
• resort to
• take advantage of