public utility

public utility

noun
1.
a business enterprise, as a public-service corporation, performing an essential public service and regulated by the federal, state, or local government. Compare utility (def. 3).
2.
Usually, public utilities. stocks or bonds of public-utility companies, excluding railroads.

Origin:
1900–05

pub·lic-u·til·i·ty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Public utility is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
public utility
 
n
Also called (US): public-service corporation an enterprise concerned with the provision to the public of essentials, such as electricity or water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

public utility definition


A private company supplying water, gas, electricity, telephone service, or the like, which is granted a monopoly by the government and then regulated by the government.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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