utilize

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“
With the formula we will utilize, the state of Nevada and county governments could collect millions.

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. transitive verb To put to use, especially to find a profitable or practical use for. See Synonyms at use.
  2. usage note
    A number of critics have remarked that utilize is an unnecessary substitute for use. It is true that many occurrences of utilize could be replaced by use with no loss to anything but pretentiousness, for example, in sentences such as They utilized questionable methods in their analysis or We hope that many commuters will continue to utilize mass transit after the bridge has reopened. But utilize can mean "to find a profitable or practical use for.” Thus the sentence The teachers were unable to use the new computers might mean only that the teachers were unable to operate the computers, whereas The teachers were unable to utilize the new computers suggests that the teachers could not find ways to employ the computers in instruction.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • He possesses a treasure which he does not utilize, and of which there are so many who would make good use of it. —  Life, Letters, and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de L'Enclos, the Celebrated Beauty of the Seventeenth Century
  • Also I believe we have to utilize, and manage properly available public safety grants, and other federal monies for which we may be eligible. —  Jackson Free Press - Breaking News
  • Many don't require Ph. D. s; most will utilize, and often expand, your skills and training.
  • Instead of the standard cylindrical AA cells that most batteries utilize, the Macbook Pro's battery uses custom-shaped cells. —  MyAppleMenu
  • Quest and Dell share a mutual commitment to deliver exceptional value to customers and together provide solutions that help transform the way customers deploy, utilize, and experience technology. —  India Press Release
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same contextWord Family

utilize:   utilizing ·  utilized ·  utilizes
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French utiliser, from Italian utilizzare, from utile, useful, from Latin ūtilis, from ūtī, to use.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French utiliser = Spanish Portuguese utilizar = Italian utilizzare; as utile + -ize.
 

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/ˈətɪlaɪz/
by American Heritage

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