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

Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026

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

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

In his experience, officials generally utilize only the geographically targeted cellphone alerts, known as wireless emergency alerts, when there’s an extreme threat, Ghilarducci said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

I absorb electrical energy directly and utilize it with an almost one hundred percent efficiency.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Related Words

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