utility
pronunciation
How to pronounce utility in British English:
UK [juːˈtɪləti]
How to pronounce utility in American English:
US [juːˈtɪləti]
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- Noun:
- a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
- the quality of being of practical use
- the service provided by a utility company
- (economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice
- (computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer
- 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
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- Adjective:
- used of beef; usable but inferior
- capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team
Word Origin
- utility
- utility: see use
- utility (n.)
- late 14c., "fact of being useful," from Old French utilite "usefulness" (13c., Modern French + utilité), earlier utilitet (12c.), from Latin utilitatem (nominative utilitas) "usefulness, serviceableness, profit," from utilis "usable," from uti (see use (v.)). Meaning "a useful thing" is from late 15c. As a shortened form of public utility it is recorded from 1930.
Example
- 1. There 's another term for this : utility computing .
- 2. It will revert to looking more like a utility industry .
- 3. Perhaps the lesson is that fun trumps utility .
- 4. Twitter 's plans to insinuate more promotions into the stream of user-generated short messages underline the marketing utility of such online services .
- 5. And utility refers to intensive states .