(verb juːz, or, for pt. form of 9 juːst, noun juːs) (verb used, using)
transitive verb
1.
to employ for some purpose; put into service; make use of
to use a knife
2.
to avail oneself of; apply to one's own purposes
to use the facilities
3.
to expend or consume in use
We have used the money provided
4.
to treat or behave toward
He did not use his employees with much consideration
5.
to take unfair advantage of; exploit
to use people to gain one's own ends
6.
to drink, smoke, or ingest habitually
to use drugs
7.
to habituate or accustom
8.archaic
to practice habitually or customarily; make a practice of
intransitive verb
9.
to be accustomed, wont, or customarily found (used with an infinitive expressed or understood, and, except in archaic use, now only in the past)
He used to go every day
10.archaic
to resort, stay, or dwell customarily
11. See use up
noun
12.
the act of employing, using, or putting into service
the use of tools
13.
the state of being employed or used
14.
an instance or way of employing or using something
proper use of the tool
the painter's use of color
15.
a way of being employed or used; a purpose for which something is used
He was of temporary use
The instrument has different uses
16.
the power, right, or privilege of employing or using something
to lose the use of the right eye
to be denied the use of a library card
17.
service or advantage in or for being employed or used; utility or usefulness
of no practical use
18.
help; profit; resulting good
What's the use of pursuing the matter?
19.
occasion or need, as for something to be employed or used
Would you have any use for another calendar?
20.
continued, habitual, or customary employment or practice; custom
to follow the prevailing use of such occasions
21.Law
a.
the enjoyment of property, as by the employment, occupation, or exercise of it
b.
the benefit or profit of lands and tenements in the possession of another who simply holds them for the beneficiary
c.
the equitable ownership of land to which the legal title is in another's name
22.Liturgy
the distinctive form of ritual or of any liturgical observance used in a particular church, diocese, community, etc
23.
usual or customary experience
24. See have no use for
25. See make use of
26. See of no use
27. See put to use
SYNONYMS 1. use, utilize mean to make something serve one’s purpose. use is the general word: to use a telephone; to use a saw and other tools; to use one's eyes; to use eggs in cooking. (What is used often has depreciated or been diminished, sometimes completely consumed: a used automobile; All the butter has been used.) As applied to persons, use implies some selfish or sinister purpose: to use another to advance oneself. utilize implies practical or profitable use: to utilize the means at hand, a modern system of lighting. 3. exhaust, waste. 7. familiarize, inure. 13. employment, utilization, application, exercise. 14. handling.USAGE See usage.
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1175–1225; (v.) ME usen ‹ OF user ‹ L ūsus, ptp. of ūtī to use; (n.) ME ‹ OF ‹ L ūsus act of using a thing, application, employment, equiv. to ūt-, s. of ūtī to use + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt ˃ s]
