verb (used with object)
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.
verb (used without object)
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.
00:10
Use
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
noun
Verb phrases 11.
the act of employing, using, or putting into service: the use of tools.
12.
the state of being employed or used.
13.
an instance or way of employing or using something: proper use of the tool; the painter's use of color.
14.
a way of being employed or used; a purpose for which something is used: He was of temporary use. The instrument has different uses.
15.
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.
16.
service or advantage in or for being employed or used; utility or usefulness: of no practical use.
17.
help; profit; resulting good: What's the use of pursuing the matter?
18.
occasion or need, as for something to be employed or used: Would you have any use for another calendar?
19.
continued, habitual, or customary employment or practice; custom: to follow the prevailing use of such occasions.
20.
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.
21.
Liturgy. the distinctive form of ritual or of any liturgical observance used in a particular church, diocese, community, etc.
22.
usual or customary experience.
23.
Idioms use up,
a.
to consume entirely.
b.
to exhaust of vigor or usefulness; finish: By the end of the war he felt used up and sick of life.
24.
have no use for,
a.
to have no occasion or need for: She appears to have no use for the city.
b.
to refuse to tolerate; discount: He had no use for his brother.
c.
to have a distaste for; dislike: He has no use for dictators.
25.
make use of, to use for one's own purposes; employ: Charitable organizations will make use of your old furniture and clothing.
26.
of no use, of no advantage or help: It's of no use to look for that missing earring. It's no use asking her to go. Also, no use.
27.
put to use, to apply; employ to advantage: What a shame that no one has put that old deserted mansion to use!
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English usen < Old French user < Latin ūsus, past participle of ūtī to use; (noun) Middle English < Old French < Latin ūsus act of using a thing, application, employment, equivalent to ūt-, stem of ūtī to use + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt > s
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English usen < Old French user < Latin ūsus, past participle of ūtī to use; (noun) Middle English < Old French < Latin ūsus act of using a thing, application, employment, equivalent to ūt-, stem of ūtī to use + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt > s
Related forms
mul·ti·use, adjective
non·use, noun
non·us·ing, adjective
re·use, verb, re·used, re·us·ing, noun
un·der·use, verb (used with object), un·der·used, un·der·us·ing, noun
Can be confused: use, usage, utilize (see usage note at usage)(see synonym study at the current entry).
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. 12. employment, utilization, application, exercise. 13. handling.
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. 12. employment, utilization, application, exercise. 13. handling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To use
Collins
World English Dictionary
| use | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to put into service or action; employ for a given purpose: to use a spoon to stir with |
| 2. | to make a practice or habit of employing; exercise: he uses his brain |
| 3. | to behave towards: to use a friend well |
| 4. | to behave towards in a particular way for one's own ends: he uses people |
| 5. | to consume, expend, or exhaust: the engine uses very little oil |
| 6. | chiefly (US), (Canadian) to partake of (alcoholic drink, drugs, etc) or smoke (tobacco, marijuana, etc) |
| —n | |
| 7. | the act of using or the state of being used: the carpet wore out through constant use |
| 8. | the ability, right, or permission to use |
| 9. | the occasion to use; need: I have no use for this paper |
| 10. | an instance or manner of using |
| 11. | usefulness; advantage: it is of no use to complain |
| 12. | custom; practice; habit: long use has inured him to it |
| 13. | the purpose for which something is used; end |
| 14. | Christianity a distinctive form of liturgical or ritual observance, esp one that is traditional in a Church or group of Churches |
| 15. | the enjoyment of property, land, etc, by occupation or by deriving revenue or other benefit from it |
| 16. | law the beneficial enjoyment of property the legal title to which is held by another person as trustee |
| 17. | law an archaic word for trust |
| 18. | philosophy, logic, linguistics Compare mention See also material mode the occurrence of an expression in such a context that it performs its own linguistic function rather than being itself referred to. In "Fido" refers to Fido, the name Fido is 'used' only on the second occurrence, first being mentioned |
| 19. | have no use for |
| a. to have no need of | |
| b. to have a contemptuous dislike for | |
| 20. | make use of |
| a. to employ; use | |
| b. to exploit (a person) | |
| [C13: from Old French user to use, from Latin ūsus having used, from ūtī to use] | |
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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
| Main Entry: | USE1 |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | See US English |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
use
mid-13c., from O.Fr. user "use, employ, practice," from V.L. *usare "use," frequentative form of pp. stem of L. uti "to use," in Old L. oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of unknown origin. Replaced O.E. brucan (see brook (v.)). Used "second-hand" is recorded from 1590s.
User is recorded from 1935 in the narcotics sense, 1967 in the computer sense. User-friendly (1977) is said in some sources to have been coined by software designer Harlan Crowder as early as 1972. Verbal phrase used to "formerly did or was" (as in I used to love her) represents a construction attested from c.1300, and common from c.1400, but now surviving only in past tense form. The pronunciation is affected by the t- of to.
use
early 13c., from O.Fr. us, from L. usus "use, custom, skill, habit," from pp. stem of uti (see use (v.)). Useful is recorded from 1590s; useless is first attested 1590s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
use definition[juz]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
USE definition
languageAn early system on the IBM 1130.
[Listed in CACM 2(5):16, May 1959].
(2004-09-14)
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
use
In addition to the idioms beginning with use, also see have no use for; make use of; no use; put to good use. Also see under used.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
use
in medieval English property law, the right of one person to take the profits of land belonging to another. It involved at least two and usually three persons. One man (A) would convey or enfeoff land to another (B) on the condition that the latter would use it not for his own benefit but for the benefit of a third man (C)-who could be A himself. C (or A), thus, had the profits-that is, the use-of the land and could treat the land as he pleased. This legal institution, which arose as early as the 11th century, came to be employed not only as a legitimate method of providing for property management and for conveyancing but also as a method of defrauding creditors, depriving feudal landlords of their dues, and permitting religious institutions to derive the benefit of land that they could not own directly.
Learn more about use with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
PC users should use the eject button on the top toolbar of the application to remove the disk in use.
Engineered with state-of-the-art functions and easy to use.
Keep remaining coffee and egg closely covered, in a cool place, to use two successive mornings.
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