Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

u·til·i·ty       (yōō-tĭl'ĭ-tē)  Pronunciation Key  n.   pl. u·til·i·ties The quality or condition of being useful; usefulness: "I have always doubted the utility of these conferences on disarmament" (Winston S. Churchill). A useful article or device. A public utility. A commodity or service, such as electricity, water, or public transportation, that is provided by a public utility. Computer Science A utility program. adj.   Used, serving, or working in several capacities as needed, especially: Prepared to play any of the smaller theatrical roles on short notice: a utility cast member. Capable of playing as a substitute in any of several positions: a utility infielder. Designed for various often heavy-duty practical uses: a utility knife; a utility vehicle. Raised or kept for the production of a farm product rather than for show or as pets: utility livestock. Of the lowest U.S. Government grade: utility beef. [Middle English utilite, from Old French, from Latin ūtilitās, from ūtilis, useful, from ūtī, to use.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
utility 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

utility
adjective
1.	used of beef; usable but inferior
2.	capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team; "a utility infielder"
noun
1.	a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
2.	the quality of being of practical use [ant: inutility]
3.	the service (electric power or water or transportation) provided by a public utility; "the cost of utilities never decreases"; "all the utilities were lost after the hurricane"
4.	(economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice
5.	(computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer; "a computer system provides utility programs to perform the tasks needed by most users" [syn: utility program]
6.	a facility composed of one or more pieces of equipment connected to or part of a structure and designed to provide a service such as heat or electricity or water or sewage disposal; "the price of the house included all utilities"

Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Utility

1. An economic term referring to the total satisfaction received from consuming a good or service.

2. A company that generates, transmits and/or distributes electricity, water and/or gas from facilities that it owns and/or operates.

Investopedia Commentary

1. A consumer's utility is hard to measure. However, we can determine it indirectly with consumer behavior theories, which assume that consumers will strive to maximize their utility. Utility is a concept that was introduced by Daniel Bernoulli. He believed that for the usual person, utility increased with wealth but at a decreasing rate.

2. Since consumer demand for utilities does not change dramatically with a change in price, these companies are regulated by the state or provincial and federal governments.

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Economics Basics Tutorial
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See also: Behavioral Economics, Dismal Science, Dow Jones Utility Average - DJUA, Economics, Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, Marginal Utility, Total Utility

Wallstreet Words - Cite This Source - Share This

utility

A business that provides an essential service, generally under government regulation. Electric companies, gas transmission firms, and local telephone companies are utilities.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: util·i·ty
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : fitness for some purpose or worth to some end
2 a : PUBLIC UTILITY b : a service or commodity provided by a public utility utilities>; also : equipment or material used in providing such a service or commodity utilities —Ware v. Public Serv. Company, 412 Atlantic Reporter, Second Series 84 (1980)>
3 plural : stocks or bonds of utility companies <utilities performed poorly>

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Utility

U*til"i*ty\, n. [OE. utilite, F. utilit['e], L. utilitas, fr. utilis useful. See Utile.]

1. The quality or state of being useful; usefulness; production of good; profitableness to some valuable end; as, the utility of manure upon land; the utility of the sciences; the utility of medicines.

The utility of the enterprises was, however, so great and obvious that all opposition proved useless. --Macaulay.

2. (Polit. Econ.) Adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants; intrinsic value. See Note under Value, 2.

Value in use is utility, and nothing else, and in political economy should be called by that name and no other. --F. A. Walker.

3. Happiness; the greatest good, or happiness, of the greatest number, -- the foundation of utilitarianism. --J. S. Mill.

Syn: Usefulness; advantageous; benefit; profit; avail; service.

Usage: Utility, Usefulness. Usefulness has an Anglo-Saxon prefix, utility is Latin; and hence the former is used chiefly of things in the concrete, while the latter is employed more in a general and abstract sense. Thus, we speak of the utility of an invention, and the usefulness of the thing invented; of the utility of an institution, and the usefulness of an individual. So beauty and utility (not usefulness) are brought into comparison. Still, the words are often used interchangeably.