utility

[U*til·i*ty]

If you live in a place where the temperature never drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and someone gives you a snow blower for your birthday, you might question the gift’s utility, meaning its “usefulness.”

...

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.

Noun
the service provided by a utility company; "the cost of utilities never decreases"

Noun
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"

Noun
the quality of being of practical use

Noun
(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"

Noun
a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation

...

Noun
(economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice


n.
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.

n.
Adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants; intrinsic value. See Note under Value, 2.

n.
Happiness; the greatest good, or happiness, of the greatest number, -- the foundation of utilitarianism.


Utility

U*til"i*ty , n. [OE. utilite, F. utilit'82, 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.
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.
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. -- 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.

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.

...

Usage Examples

Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers must do service and all talents swear allegiance.

The architect should strive continually to simplify the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty.

The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web.

In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before.

The value and utility of any experiment are determined by the fitness of the material to the purpose for which it is used, and thus in the case before us it cannot be immaterial what plants are subjected to experiment and in what manner such experiment is conducted.

Misspelled Form

utility, yutility, 7utility, 8utility, iutility, jutility, ytility, 7tility, 8tility, itility, jtility, uytility, u7tility, u8tility, uitility, ujtility, urtility, u5tility, u6tility, uytility, ugtility, urility, u5ility, u6ility, uyility, ugility, utrility, ut5ility, ut6ility, utyility, utgility, utuility, ut8ility, ut9ility, utoility, utjility, utkility, utulity, ut8lity, ut9lity, utolity, utjlity, utklity, utiulity, uti8lity, uti9lity, utiolity, utijlity, utiklity, utiklity, utiolity, utiplity, uti:lity, utikity, utioity, utipity, uti:ity, utilkity, utiloity, utilpity, util:ity, utiluity, util8ity, util9ity, utiloity, utiljity, utilkity, utiluty, util8ty, util9ty, utiloty, utiljty, utilkty, utiliuty, utili8ty, utili9ty, utilioty, utilijty, utilikty, utilirty, utili5ty, utili6ty, utiliyty, utiligty, utiliry, utili5y, utili6y, utiliyy, utiligy, utilitry, utilit5y, utilit6y, utilityy, utilitgy, utilitty, utilit6y, utilit7y, utilituy, utilithy, utilitt, utilit6, utilit7, utilitu, utilith, utilityt, utility6, utility7, utilityu, utilityh.

Other Usage Examples

Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity, quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace.

To remove this obstacle I repeat or refer to such knowledge as has come under my notice, my own previously expressed views, and also describe and exhibit my last experiments and explain their novelty and utility.

Love consists in giving without getting in return in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That's why true love is never based, as associations for utility or pleasure are, on a fair exchange.

What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.

Ah, the power of two. There's nothing quite like it. Especially when it comes to paying utility bills, parenting, cooking elaborate meals, purchasing a grown-up bed, jumping rope and lifting heavy machinery. The world favours pairs. Who wants to waste the wood building an ark for singletons?

Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.

Comments


Browse Dictionary