Use

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Use, n. [OE. us use, usage, L. usus, from uti, p. p. usus, to use. See Use, v. t.].

•  The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's service; the state of being so employed or applied; application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as, the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general use.  [1913 Webster]

  "Books can never teach the use of books."  [1913 Webster]

  "This Davy serves you for good uses."  [1913 Webster]

  "When he framed
  All things to man's delightful use."  [1913 Webster]
•  Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no further use for a book.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of being used; usefulness; utility.  [1913 Webster]

  "God made two great lights, great for their use
  To man."  [1913 Webster]

  "'T is use alone that sanctifies expense."  [1913 Webster]
•  Continued or repeated practice; customary employment; usage; custom; manner; habit.  [1913 Webster]

  "Let later age that noble use envy."  [1913 Webster]

  "How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
  Seem to me all the uses of this world!"  [1913 Webster]
•  Common occurrence; ordinary experience.  [1913 Webster]

  "O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use."  [1913 Webster]
•  The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.  [1913 Webster]

  "From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but one use."  [1913 Webster]
•  The premium paid for the possession and employment of borrowed money; interest; usury.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use and principal, to him."  [1913 Webster]
•  The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and limited to A for the use of B.  [1913 Webster]
•  A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging, as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.  [1913 Webster]

Contingent use, or Springing use (Law), a use to come into operation on a future uncertain event. -- In use. (a) In employment; in customary practice observance. (b) In heat; -- said especially of mares. J. H. Walsh. -- Of no use, useless; of no advantage. -- Of use, useful; of advantage; profitable. -- Out of use, not in employment. -- Resulting use (Law), a use, which, being limited by the deed, expires or can not vest, and results or returns to him who raised it, after such expiration. -- Secondary use, or Shifting use, a use which, though executed, may change from one to another by circumstances. Blackstone. -- Statute of uses (Eng. Law), the stat. 27 Henry VIII., cap. 10, which transfers uses into possession, or which unites the use and possession. -- To make use of, To put to use, to employ; to derive service from; to use.

Use, v. t. [OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of uncertain origin. Cf. Utility.].

•  To make use of; to convert to one's service; to avail one's self of; to employ; to put a purpose; as, to use a plow; to use a chair; to use time; to use flour for food; to use water for irrigation.  [1913 Webster]

  "Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs."  [1913 Webster]

  "Some other means I have which may be used."  [1913 Webster]
•  To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "How wouldst thou use me now?"  [1913 Webster]

  "Cato has used me ill."  [1913 Webster]
•  To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business.  [1913 Webster]

  "Use hospitality one to another."  [1913 Webster]
•  To accustom; to habituate; to render familiar by practice; to inure; -- employed chiefly in the passive participle; as, men used to cold and hunger; soldiers used to hardships and danger.  [1913 Webster]

  "I am so used in the fire to blow."  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou with thy compeers,
  Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels."  [1913 Webster]

  "I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the power
  Which thy discretion gives thee, to control
  And manage all."  [1913 Webster]

  "To study nature will thy time employ:
  Knowledge and innocence are perfect joy."  [1913 Webster]

To use one's self, to behave. [Obs.] “Pray, forgive me, if I have used myself unmannerly.” Shak. -- To use up. (a) To consume or exhaust by using; to leave nothing of; as, to use up the supplies. (b) To exhaust; to tire out; to leave no capacity of force or use in; to overthrow; as, he was used up by fatigue. [Colloq.]

Syn. -- Employ.

Use, v. i. 

•  To be wont or accustomed; to be in the habit or practice; as, he used to ride daily; -- now disused in the present tense, perhaps because of the similarity in sound, between “use to,” and “used to.”  [1913 Webster]

  "They use to place him that shall be their captain on a stone."  [1913 Webster]

  "Fears use to be represented in an imaginary."  [1913 Webster]

  "Thus we use to say, it is the room that smokes, when indeed it is the fire in the room."  [1913 Webster]

  "Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be accustomed to go; to frequent; to inhabit; to dwell; -- sometimes followed by of.  Spenser.  [1913 Webster]

  "He useth every day to a merchant's house."  [1913 Webster]

  "Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers use
  Of shades, and wanton winds, and gushing brooks."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Use, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 cause to act or serve for a purpose; bring into service; avail oneself of (rarely uses the car; use your discretion).
2 treat (a person) in a specified manner (they used him shamefully).
3 exploit for one's own ends (they are just using you).
4 (in past; foll. by to + infin.) did or had in the past (but no longer) as a customary practice or state (I used to be an archaeologist; it used not (or did not use) to rain so often).
5 (as used adj.) second-hand.
6 (as used predic. adj.) (foll. by to) familiar by habit; accustomed (not used to hard work).
7 apply (a name or title etc.) to oneself.
--n.
1 the act of using or the state of being used; application to a purpose (put it to good use; is in daily use; worn and polished with use).
2 the right or power of using (lost the use of my right arm).
3 a the ability to be used (a torch would be of use). b the purpose for which a thing can be used (it's no use talking).
4 custom or usage (long use has reconciled me to it).
5 the characteristic ritual and liturgy of a church or diocese etc.
6 Law hist. the benefit or profit of lands, esp. in the possession of another who holds them solely for the beneficiary.

Idiom

could use colloq. would be glad to have; would be improved by having. have no use for
1 be unable to find a use for.
2 dislike or be impatient with.
make use of
1 employ, apply.
2 benefit from. use and wont established custom. use a person's name quote a person as an authority or reference etc.
use up
1 consume completely, use the whole of.
2 find a use for (something remaining).
3 exhaust or wear out e.g. with overwork.

Etymology

ME f. OF us, user, ult. f. L uti us- use

THESAURUS

Use

ablation, absolute interest, abuse, account, act toward, adaptability, advantage, appliance, applicability, application, apply, appropriateness, automatism, avail, availability, bad habit, behalf, behave toward, behoof, benefit, bestow, bleed, bleed white, bon ton, bring into play, care for, carry on, ceremony, characteristic, claim, common, conduct, conformity, consuetude, contend with, contingent interest, control, convenience, convention, cope with, creature of habit, custom, deal by, deal with, demand, do, do by, do with, drain, duty, easement, effectiveness, efficacy, efficiency, employ, employment, end use, engage in, equitable interest, equity, erosion, established way, estate, etiquette, exercise, exercising, exert, exertion, exploit, fall back, familiarize, fashion, fitness, folkway, follow, force of habit, formality, function, functionality, go in for, goal, govern, habit, habit pattern, habituate, habitude, handle, helpfulness, holding, ill-use, immediate purpose, impose, impose upon, interest, inure, limitation, make use of, manage, manipulate, manner, manners, mark, milk, misuse, mores, object, objective, observance, occasion, office, operability, operate, operation, operational purpose, parley, part, pattern, peculiarity, percentage, play, play on, ply, point, practicability, practical utility, practicality, practice, praxis, prescription, presume upon, profit, profitability, proper thing, prosecute, purpose, pursue, put forth, put out, put to use, ravages of time, regulate, relevance, respond to, right, right of entry, ritual, role, run, second nature, serve, service, serviceability, settlement, social convention, specialize in, stake, standard behavior, standard usage, standing custom, stereotype, stereotyped behavior, steward, strict settlement, stroke, suck dry, tackle, take, take advantage of, take on, take to, take up, talk, target, time-honored practice, title, tradition, treat, trick, trust, ultimate purpose, undertake, usability, usage, use ill, usefulness, utility, utilizability, utilize, value, vested interest, wage, way, wear, wear and tear, weathering, what is done, wield, wont, wonting, work, work at, work on, work upon, worth

ROGET THESAURUS

Use

Habit

N habit, habitude, assuetude, assuefaction, wont, run, way, common state of things, general state of things, natural state of things, ordinary state of things, ordinary course of things, ordinary run of things, matter of course, beaten path, beaten track, beaten ground, prescription, custom, use, usage, immemorial usage, practice, prevalence, observance, conventionalism, conventionality, mode, fashion, vogue, etiquette, order of the day, cry, conformity, consuetude, dustoor, one's old way, old school, veteris vestigia flammae, laudator temporis acti, rule, standing order, precedent, routine, red-tape, red-tapism, pipe clay, rut, groove, cacoethes, bad habit, confirmed habit, inveterate habit, intrinsic habit, addiction, trick, training, seasoning, second nature, acclimatization, knack, habitual, accustomary, prescriptive, accustomed, of daily occurrence, of everyday occurrence, consuetudinary, wonted, usual, general, ordinary, common, frequent, everyday, household, garden variety, jog, trot, well-trodden, well-known, familiar, vernacular, trite, commonplace, conventional, regular, set, stock, established, stereotyped, prevailing, prevalent, current, received, acknowledged, recognized, accredited, of course, admitted, understood, conformable, according to use, according to custom, according to routine, in vogue, in fashion, in, with it, fashionable, wont, used to, given to, addicted to, attuned to, habituated, in the habit of, habitue, at home in, seasoned, imbued with, devoted to, wedded to, hackneyed, fixed, rooted, deep-rooted, ingrafted, permanent, inveterate, besetting, naturalized, ingrained, habitually, always, as usual, as is one's wont, as things go, as the world goes, as the sparks fly upwards, more suo, more solito, ex more, as a rule, for the most part, usually, generally, typically, most often, most frequently, cela s'entend, abeunt studia in mores, adeo in teneris consuescere multum est, consuetudo quasi altera natura, hoc erat in more majorum, How use doth breed a habit in a man!, magna est vis consuetudinis, morent fecerat usus.

Waste

VB spend, expend, use, consume, swallow up, exhaust, impoverish, spill, drain, empty, disperse, cast away, fool away, muddle away, throw away, fling away, fritter away, burn the candle at both ends, waste, squander, waste its sweetness on the desert air, cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine, employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel, labor in vain, cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve, leak, run to waste, ebb, melt away, run dry, dry up.

Utility

N utility, usefulness, efficacy, efficiency, adequacy, service, use, stead, avail, help, applicability, subservience, function, value, worth, money's worth, productiveness, cui bono, utilization, step in the right direction, common weal, commonwealth public good, public interest, utilitarianism, useful, of use, serviceable, proficuous, good for, subservient, conducive, subsidiary, advantageous, profitable, gainful, remunerative, worth one's salt, valuable, prolific, adequate, efficient, efficacious, effective, effectual, expedient, applicable, available, ready, handy, at hand, tangible, commodious, adaptable, of all work, usefully, pro bono publico.

Use

N use, employ, employment, exercise, exercitation, application, appliance, adhibition, disposal, consumption, agency, usufruct, usefulness, benefit, recourse, resort, avail, utilization, service, wear, usage, in use, used, well-worn, well-trodden, useful, subservient.

VB use, make use of, employ, put to use, put in action, put in operation, put in practice, set in motion, set to work, ply, work, wield, handle, manipulate, play, play off, exert, exercise, practice, avail oneself of, profit by, resort to, have recourse to, recur to, take betake oneself to, take up with, take advantage of, lay one's hands on, try, render useful, mold, turn to account, turn to use, convert to use, utilize, work up, call into play, bring into play, put into requisition, call forth, draw forth, press into service, enlist into the service, bring to bear upon, devote, dedicate, consecrate, apply, adhibit, dispose of, make a handle of, make a cat's-paw of, fall back upon, make a shift with, make the most of, make the best of, use up, swallow up, consume, absorb, expend, tax, task, wear, put to task.

Property

N property, possession, suum cuique, meum et tuum, ownership, proprietorship, lordship, seignority, empire, interest, stake, estate, right, title, claim, demand, holding, tenure, vested interest, contingent interest, beneficial interest, equitable interest, use, trust, benefit, legal estate, equitable estate, seizin, seisin, absolute interest, paramount estate, freehold, fee tail, fee simple, estate in fee, estate in tail, estate tail, estate in tail male, estate in tail female, estate in tail general, limitation, term, lease, settlement, strict settlement, particular estate, estate for life, estate for years, estate pur autre vie, remainder, reversion, expectancy, possibility, dower, dowry, jointure, appanage, inheritance, heritage, patrimony, alimony, legacy, Falcidian law, paternal estate, thirds, assets, belongings, means, resources, circumstances, wealth, money, what one is worth, what one will cut up for, estate and effects, landed property, landed real estate property, realty, land, lands, tenements, hereditaments, corporeal hereditaments, incorporeal hereditaments, acres, ground, acquest, messuage, toft, territory, state, kingdom, principality, realm, empire, protectorate, sphere of influence, manor, honor, domain, demesne, farm, plantation, hacienda, allodium, fief, fieff, feoff, feud, zemindary, dependency, arado, merestead, ranch, free lease-holds, copy lease-holds, folkland, chattels real, fixtures, plant, heirloom, easement, right of common, right of user, personal property, personal estate, personal effects, personalty, chattels, goods, effects, movables, stock, stock in trade, things, traps, rattletraps, paraphernalia, equipage, parcels, appurtenances, impedimenta, luggage, baggage, bag and baggage, pelf, cargo, lading, rent roll, income, maul and wedges, patent, copyright, chose in action, credit, debt, one's own, landed, predial, manorial, allodial, free lease-hold, copy lease-hold, feudal, feodal, to one's credit, to one's account, to the good, to one and his heirs for ever, to one and the heirs of his body, to one and his heirs and assigns, to one and his executors administrators and assign.