utility

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: u=til=i=ty

CIDE DICTIONARY

utility, n. [OE. utilite, F. utilité, L. utilitas, fr. utilis useful. See Utile.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The utility of the enterprises was, however, so great and obvious that all opposition proved useless."  [1913 Webster]
•  Adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants; intrinsic value. See Note under Value, 2.  [1913 Webster]

  "Value in use is utility, and nothing else, and in political economy should be called by that name and no other."  [1913 Webster]
•  Happiness; the greatest good, or happiness, of the greatest number, -- the foundation of utilitarianism.  J. S. Mill.  [1913 Webster]

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

OXFORD DICTIONARY

utility, n. (pl. -ies)
1 the condition of being useful or profitable.
2 a useful thing.
3 = public utility.
4 (attrib.) a severely practical and standardized (utility furniture). b made or serving for utility.

Idiom

utility room a room equipped with appliances for washing, ironing, and other domestic work. utility vehicle (or truck etc.) a vehicle capable of serving various functions.

Etymology

ME f. OF utilit{eacute} f. L utilitas -tatis (as UTILE)

THESAURUS

utility

Aktiengesellschaft, account, advantage, advantageousness, aktiebolag, alternate, alternative, appliance, applicability, appropriateness, availability, backup, beneficialness, body corporate, business, business establishment, cartel, chamber of commerce, combine, commercial enterprise, compagnie, company, concern, conglomerate, conglomerate corporation, consolidating company, consortium, convenience, copartnership, corporate body, corporation, counterfeit, diversified corporation, drive, dummy, effectiveness, efficacy, efficiency, engine, enginery, enterprise, equivalent, ersatz, facility, fake, favorableness, firm, fitness, fixture, functionality, helpfulness, holding company, house, imitation, industry, joint-stock association, joint-stock company, machine, machinery, makeshift, mechanical aid, mechanical device, mechanism, mock, motive power, motor, operability, operating company, partnership, phony, pinch, plunderbund, pool, power plant, power source, practicability, practical utility, practicality, profitability, provisional, proxy, public utility, relevance, reserve, secondary, service, serviceability, spare, stock company, stopgap, substitute, syndicate, temporary, tentative, token, trade association, trust, usability, use, usefulness, utilizability, vicarious

ROGET THESAURUS

utility

Good

N good, benefit, advantage, improvement, greatest good, supreme good, interest, service, behoof, behalf, weal, main chance, summum bonum, common weal, consummation devoutly to be wished, gain, boot, profit, harvest, boon, good turn, blessing, world of good, piece of good luck, piece of good fortune, nuts, prize, windfall, godsend, waif, treasure-trove, good fortune, happiness, goodness, utility, remedy, pleasure giving, commendable, useful, good, beneficial, well, aright, satisfactorily, favorably, not amis, all for the best, to one's advantage, in one's favor, in one's interest, so far so good, magnum bonum.

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.

Expedience

N expedience, expediency, desirableness, desirability, fitness, utility, propriety, opportunism, advantage, high time, expedient, desirable, advisable, acceptable, convenient, worth while, meet, fit, fitting, due, proper, eligible, seemly, becoming, befitting, opportune, in loco, suitable, applicable, in the right place, conveniently, operae pretium est.