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

Eastern, followed at 9:15 a.m. by April’s industrial production and capacity utilization.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

“The lower price environment in 2026 is leading to higher utilization of gas-fired generation assets across the country, increasing gas consumption on a weather-normalized basis,” Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

The company also announced its Scorpio X-Series 320 Lane Smart Fabric Switch on Tuesday — a chip that was developed to improve utilization and performance of large AI chip clusters.

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

Its copper-foil business could return to profit in 2H, supported by the ramp-up in factory utilization at its new Malaysia plant, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 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