Use — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈyüz/ (verb) /ˈyüs/ (noun)

Meaning & Definition of Use

Use (verb)

  1. to put into action or service, avail oneself of, employ —often used with for; often followed by to + a verb
  2. to expend or consume by putting to use —often used with up
  3. to benefit from the use of, stand —usually used with can or could

Use (noun)

  1. the act or practice of employing something, employment, application
  2. the fact or state of being used
  3. a method or manner of employing or applying something

Use (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to put into action or service

    "I will need to use the large hammer for this project"

    similar: apply, employ, exercise, exploit, harness, operate, utilize, bring to bear, draw on, make use of
    related: handle, manipulate, wield, direct, run, work, cannibalize, recycle, reuse
    near: ignore, neglect, misapply, misuse

  2. to behave toward in a stated way

    "the factory workers were underpaid and poorly used by their employers"

    similar: act (toward), be (to), deal (with), handle, serve, treat, do by
    related: consider, esteem, rate, reckon, regard, view, engage (with), react (to), respond (to)

  3. to take unfair advantage of

    "I was paying for everything on our little outing, and I was starting to feel like I was being used"

    similar: abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), exploit, impose (on or upon), leverage, milk, pimp, play (on or upon), work, trade on, walk on
    related: jerk around, manipulate, mistreat, bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick, commercialize, commodify

Use (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose

    "the use of boom boxes is strictly prohibited in the park"

    similar: application, employment, exercise, operation, play, usage
    related: exertion, reuse
    near: disuse, nonuse

  2. the capacity for being useful for some purpose

    "the broken grill isn't going to be of much use in cooking the hamburgers"

    similar: account, avail, mileage, service, serviceability, serviceableness, usefulness, utility
    related: advantage, benefit, gain, aid, assistance, help, applicability, appropriateness, fitness, relevance, profit, value, worth
    opposite: uselessness, worthlessness
    near: inapplicability, inappropriateness

  3. positive regard for something

    "I have no use for slackers"

    similar: appetite, fancy, favor, fondness, like, liking, love, love affair, partiality, preference, relish, shine, taste
    related: craving, desire, hankering, longing, thirst, yen, enthusiasm, gusto, interest, passion, bias, prejudice, bent, inclination, leaning, propensity, tendency, tooth, palate, weakness
    opposite: aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing, mislike
    near: apathy, disinclination, indifference, unconcern

Related Entry: Use up (verb)

Use up is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for use up, not for use.

  1. to make complete use of

    "we used up the last of the flour when we made the waffles"

    similar: absorb, burn, consume, deplete, devour, drain, draw down, exhaust, expend, play out, spend, run out of
    related: abate, decrease, de-escalate, diminish, downsize, dwindle, lessen, lower, reduce, eat, use, bankrupt, clean (out), impoverish, cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, undermine, weaken, dry up, empty, blow, dissipate, fritter (away), guzzle, lavish, misspend, run through, squander, throw away, waste
    opposite: renew, replace
    near: augment, enlarge, increase, bolster, enforce, fortify, reinforce, strengthen, rebuild, repair, restore, revive, conserve, preserve, save

Related Entry: Ill-use (verb)

Ill-use is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for ill-use, not for use.

  1. to inflict physical or emotional harm upon

    "some of the employees felt so ill-used by the new manager that they quit"

    similar: abuse, brutalize, bully, ill-treat, kick around, maltreat, manhandle, mess over (slang), mishandle, mistreat, misuse, take apart
    related: molest, outrage, violate, harass, harm, hurt, injure, oppress, persecute, torment, torture, burn, sandbag, victimize, wrong, beat (up), mess (up), rough (up), work (over)
    near: care (for), cherish, foster, nurture, baby, cater (to), coddle, favor, gratify, humor, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil

Related Entry: Make use of (phrase)

Make use of is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for make use of, not for use.

  1. to put into action or service

    "We made use of a waterproof camera to photograph undersea life."

    similar: apply, employ, exercise, exploit, harness, operate, use, utilize, bring to bear
    related: handle, manipulate, wield, direct, run, work, cannibalize, recycle, reuse
    near: ignore, neglect, misapply, misuse

Related Entry: Mixed-use (adjective)

Mixed-use is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for mixed-use, not for use.

  1. as in multipurpose

    similar: multipurpose, all-around, all-purpose, catholic, general, general-purpose, unlimited, unqualified, unrestricted, unspecialized, broad, wide, nonspecific, unspecified, vague
    opposite: limited, restricted, specialized, technical, bounded, circumscribed, confined, definite, demarcated, determinate, finite, qualified, dedicated, selective

Related Entry: Made use of (phrase)

Made use of is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for made use of, not for use.

  1. to put into action or service

    "We made use of a waterproof camera to photograph undersea life."

    similar: applied, employed, exercised, exploited, harnessed, operated, used, utilized, brought to bear
    related: handled, manipulated, wielded, directed, ran, worked, cannibalized, recycled, reused
    near: ignored, neglected, misapplied, misused

Related Entry: Makes use of (phrase)

Makes use of is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for makes use of, not for use.

  1. to put into action or service

    "We made use of a waterproof camera to photograph undersea life."

    similar: applies, employs, exercises, exploits, harnesses, operates, uses, utilizes, brings to bear
    related: handles, manipulates, wields, directs, runs, works, cannibalizes, recycles, reuses
    near: ignores, neglects, misapplies, misuses

Related Entry: Making use of (phrase)

Making use of is a different word from Use. The synonyms below are for making use of, not for use.

  1. to put into action or service

    "We made use of a waterproof camera to photograph undersea life."

    similar: applying, employing, exercising, exploiting, harnessing, operating, using, utilizing, bringing to bear
    related: handling, manipulating, wielding, directing, running, working, cannibalizing, recycling, reusing
    near: ignoring, neglecting, misapplying, misusing

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Use

The most common words with a similar meaning to Use:

apply, employ, exercise, exploit, harness, operate, utilize, act (toward), be (to), deal (with), handle, serve, treat, abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), impose (on or upon), leverage, milk, pimp, play (on or upon), work, bring to bear, draw on, make use of, do by, trade on, walk on, application, employment, operation, play, usage, account, avail, mileage, service, serviceability, serviceableness, usefulness

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Use

Words with the opposite meaning of Use:

uselessness, worthlessness, aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing, mislike

Related Words for Use

manipulate, wield, direct, run, cannibalize, recycle, reuse, consider, esteem, rate, reckon, regard, view, engage (with), react (to), respond (to), jerk around, mistreat, bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick, commercialize, commodify, exertion, advantage, benefit

Near Antonyms of Use

ignore, neglect, misapply, misuse, disuse, nonuse, inapplicability, inappropriateness, apathy, disinclination, indifference, unconcern

Word Forms of Use

Inflections: used, using

Origin & Etymology of Use

Middle English us, from Anglo-French, from Latin usus, from uti to use

First known use: 14th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Use

Words & Phrases Containing Use

use case, use up, use one's head, use one's heads, use one's noggin, use to, alcohol use disorder, emergency use authorization

Frequently Asked Questions about Use

What does "Use" mean?

"Use" means to put into action or service, avail oneself of, employ —often used with for; often followed by to + a verb. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to put into action or service, avail oneself of, employ —often used with for; often followed by to + a verb. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Use"?

Other words for "Use" include apply, employ, exercise, exploit, harness, operate, utilize and act (toward). The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Use" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Use"?

There are 115 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Use". Common alternatives include apply, employ, exercise, exploit, harness, operate, utilize, act (toward), be (to) and deal (with).

What is the opposite of "Use"?

Antonyms of "Use" include uselessness, worthlessness, aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste and hatred. Near antonyms include ignore, neglect, misapply and misuse.

How do you use "Use" in a sentence?

Examples of "Use" in a sentence: "I will need to use the large hammer for this project"; "the factory workers were underpaid and poorly used by their employers"; "I was paying for everything on our little outing, and I was starting to feel like I was being used".

Is "Use" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Use" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Use" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Use" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Use"?

"Use" is pronounced /ˈyüz/ as a verb and /ˈyüs/ as a noun.