Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative spellings 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Pronunciation 1.4 Noun 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Derived terms 1.4.3 Translations 1.5 Verb 1.5.1 Synonyms 1.5.2 Translations 1.5.3 Derived terms 1.6 References

[ English

Rank of this word in the English language, from analyzing texts from Project Gutenberg.
light	felt	since	#250: use	used	began	thy

[ Alternative spellings

• uſe (archaic)

[ Etymology

Old French us (“‘use, usage’”), Latin usus, from uti (“‘to use’”).

[ Pronunciation

• (noun):
  • (UK) enPR: yo͞os, IPA: /juːs/, SAMPA: /ju:s/
  • (US) enPR: yo͞os, IPA: /jus/, SAMPA: /jus/

   Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -uːs

• (verb):
  • (UK) enPR: yo͞oz, IPA: /juːz/, SAMPA: /ju:z/
  • (US) enPR: yo͞oz, IPA: /juz/, SAMPA: /juz/

   Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -uːz

  Homophones: ewes, yews, yous, youse

[ Noun

Singular use

Plural countable and uncountable; uses

use (countable and uncountable; plural uses)

1. (countable) The act of using.

   The use of torture has been condemned by the United Nations.

   There is no use for your invention.

2. (uncountable, followed by "of") Usefulness, benefit.

   What's the use of a law that nobody abides to?

3. A function; a purpose for which something may be employed.

   This tool has many uses.

[ Synonyms

• (act of using): employment, usage
• (usefulness): benefit, good, point, usefulness, utility

[ Derived terms

• fair use
• misuse
• no use
• what’s the use
• hyper-use

[ Translations

act of using

Catalan: ús m. Chinese: 用 (yòng) Czech: použití n. Dutch: gebruik n. Finnish: käyttö French: usage m. German: Benutzung f., Anwendung f., Gebrauch m. Italian: uso m. Japanese: 使用 (shiyō), 利用 (riyō) Kurdish: به‌کارهێنان

Norwegian: bruk m. Polish: użycie, stosowanie Portuguese: uso m. Romanian: folosire f., uz f. Romansch: niz m. Russian: употребление (upotreblénije) n. Slovene: uporaba f. (1), raba f. (1) Spanish: uso m. Turkish: kullanma, kullanım, kullanış Vietnamese: sự dùng

usefulness

Dutch: nut n. Finnish: hyödyllisyys, hyöty French: utilité f. German: Nutzen m. Japanese: 効用 (kōyō) Kurdish: که‌ڵک

Norwegian: nytte m. Polish: użytek, użyteczność Spanish: utilidad f. Turkish: fayda, yarar Vietnamese: ích

function

Czech: použití n. Dutch: functie f. Finnish: käyttötarkoitus, käyttökohde German: Funktion f., Zweck m.

Japanese: 用途 (yōto) Polish: zastosowanie, funkcja Spanish: función f. Turkish: kullanış

[ Verb

Infinitive to use

Third person singular uses

Simple past used

Past participle used

Present participle using

to use (third-person singular simple present uses, present participle using, simple past and past participle used)

1. (transitive) To employ; to apply; to utilize.

   Use this knife to slice the bread.

   We can use this mathematical formula to solve the problem.

2. (transitive, often with “up”) To exhaust the supply of; to consume by employing

   They already used up most of thee fuel.

3. (intransitive, as an auxiliary verb, now only in past tense) to perform habitually; to be accustomed [to doing something]

   He used to live here, but moved away last year.

[ Synonyms

• apply
• employ
• engage
• exploit
• take advantage of
• utilise/utilize (use sparingly)

[ Translations

employ, apply

Arabic: استعمل (’istáʕmala) Catalan: usar, utilitzar Chinese: 用 (yòng), 使用 (shǐyòng), 应用 (yìngyòng), 消耗 (xiāohào) Czech: použít Dutch: gebruiken Esperanto: uzi Finnish: käyttää French: utiliser, se servir de German: benutzen, verwenden, gebrauchen Hebrew: הִשְתָמֶש (hištamesh) Hungarian: használni Ido: uzar Italian: usare Japanese: 用いる, 使う (つかう, tsukau)

Korean: 쓰다 (sseuda), 사용하다 (sayonghada) Latvian: lietot, izmantot Occitan: usar, emplegar Polish: używać, posługiwać się Portuguese: usar, utilizar Romanian: utiliza, folosi Romansch: duvrar, applitgar Russian: использовать (ispól’zovat’), употреблять (upotreblját’) Sardinian: imperàre Spanish: usar, utilizar Swedish: använda Turkish: kullanmak Vietnamese: dùng, sử dụng, xài, lợi dụng

[ Derived terms

• usability
• usable
• usage
• used
• used to
• useful
• user

[ References

• “use” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.