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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

utility en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /juːˈtɪlɪti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /juˈtɪləti/ (General-American)
  • /-lət-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /jʉˈtɪlɪte/ (Scotland)
  • /jɵ-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /-lət-/ (Scotland)
  • /jə-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /jə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • [juˈtɪləɾi] (General-American)
  • /-lɪt-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /jə-/ (Scotland)
  • /jʊ-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /jʉwˈtɪləti/ (British, Southern, Standard)

Etymology

From Middle English utilite, from Old French utilite, utilitet (“usefulness”), from Latin ūtilitās, from uti (“to use”). By surface analysis, utile + -ity.

Meanings

  1. Having to do with, or owned by, a service provider.
    • utility line; utility bill
  2. (qualifier:Of a building or its components) containing or intended for any of a building’s often-utility-related commodity transport, such as pipes or wires, or converting equipment, such as furnaces, water tanks or heaters, circuit breakers, central air conditioning units, laundry facilities, etc.
    • utility room; utility corridor
  3. Functional rather than attractive.
    • "Chocolate and cream," the standard colours of G.W.R. rolling stock for 21 years, are now being replaced by an all-over utility coating of reddish-brown. This is the third time that a uniform brown has been adopted as the standard livery of G.W.R. carriages. 1943 March and April, “G.W.R. Rolling Stock Colours”, in Railway Magazine, page 106:

Synonyms

advantages (state of being useful) · note (state of being useful) · usefulness (state of being useful) · return (state of being useful) · virtue (state of being useful) · merits (state of being useful) · benefit (state of being useful) · value (state of being useful)

utility en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /juːˈtɪlɪti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /juˈtɪləti/ (General-American)
  • /-lət-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /jʉˈtɪlɪte/ (Scotland)
  • /jɵ-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /-lət-/ (Scotland)
  • /jə-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /jə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • [juˈtɪləɾi] (General-American)
  • /-lɪt-/ (British, Southern, Standard)
  • /jə-/ (Scotland)
  • /jʊ-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /jʉwˈtɪləti/ (British, Southern, Standard)

Etymology

From Middle English utilite, from Old French utilite, utilitet (“usefulness”), from Latin ūtilitās, from uti (“to use”). By surface analysis, utile + -ity.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The state or condition of being useful; usefulness.
    • "The profession has its utility, but I should be sorry to see any friend of mine belonging to it." 1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], “III”, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:
  2. (countable, uncountable) Something that is useful.
    • Undoubtedly it can be said that the humble 0-6-0 has been the backbone for general service, or general utility on British railways right from their earliest days, and is likely to remain so. 1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 320:
  3. (countable, uncountable) The ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants; the satisfaction experienced by the consumer of that commodity.
  4. (countable, uncountable) Well-being, satisfaction, pleasure, or happiness.
  5. (countable, uncountable) A commodity or service provided on a continuous basis by a physical infrastructure network, such as electricity, water supply or sewerage.
    • The 'slab track' system negates the need to divert utilities such as gas pipes and telecoms cables by only digging down to a depth of 30cm. 2025 June 25, “Network News: Public trials of Coventry's Very Light Rail system”, in RAIL, number 1038, page 10:
    • The complex includes the usual utilities (gas and electricity) and amenities like wifi and a gym (toilets with toiletries).
    • Elsewhere, utility diversion works are still scheduled to continue, with work to move a gas main on Drummond Street set to begin in early 2025. 2025 February 19, Chris Howe, “Euston: a work in progress”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 46:
  6. (broadly, countable, uncountable) A natural or legal monopoly distributer of such a utility; or, the securities of such a provider.
  7. (countable, uncountable) A software program other than a game; one that is useful or creative rather than merely entertaining.
    • a graphics utility; a music utility
  8. (countable, uncountable) A software program designed to perform a single task or a small range of tasks, often to help manage and tune computer hardware, an operating system, or application software.
    • I've bought a new disk utility that can recover deleted files.
    • The system includes an 8080 and a Z80 assembler, a Tektronix format downloader and other utilities. 1982, InfoWorld, volume 4, number 10, page 35:
    • Holonyms: app, application, program
  9. (countable, uncountable) The ability to play multiple positions.
  10. (Australia, New-Zealand, countable, uncountable) A coupé utility, or ute; an automobile with an open tray or bed behind the passenger cabin.
    • Tim Archer got into the utility and drove[.] The car was a 1946 Chevrolet, somewhat battered by four years of station use, a sturdy practical vehicle with a coupé front seat and an open truck body behind. 1952, Nevil Shute, chapter 1, in The Far Country, Melbourne: Heinemann:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
utilities Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

inutility · disutility

Coordinates

applet · trustlet · worklet

Deriveds

nonutility · utilityman · utility bike · utilitylike · utility pigeon · law of diminishing marginal utility · utility trailer · unutility · utility knife · utilitarian · utility monster · utility bar · utility pole · marginal utility · utility calculus · utility fog · utility man · utility function · public utility van · Asian utility vehicle · utility computing · utility vehicle · multiutility · utility graph · basic utility vehicle · beautility · utility furniture · transaction utility · utility key · public utility bus · sport utility vehicle · public utility vehicle · utility sink · utility model · utility program · utility ball · public utility jeepney · utility programme · utility player · utility belt · utility room · utility task vehicle · coupé utility · utility truck · public utility · utilidor

Synonyms

usefulness · utility · value · service

Translations (108)

hu hasznosság (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · hu közműszolgáltató (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · nl handigs (something that is useful) · hu rezsi (business: areal monopoly provider) · cs užitek (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · fi apuohjelma (computing: software program with specific task) · sv leverantör (business: areal monopoly provider) · ru поле́зность (state or condition of being useful) · ro folos (state or condition of being useful) · cy defnyddioldeb (state or condition of being useful) · nl hulpmiddel (computing: software program with specific task) · ja ユーティリティ (computing: software program with specific task) · nl bruikbaarheid (state or condition of being useful) · fr utilitaire (something that is useful) · oc utilitat (state or condition of being useful) · fi laitos (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · sv värmeverk n and other compounds with verk (business: areal monopoly provider) · hu haszon (state or condition of being useful) · sv tillämpning (computing: software program with specific task) · hu közüzem (business: areal monopoly provider) · sv applikation (computing: software program with specific task) · fi monipuolisuus (sports: ability to play multiple positions) · ja 有用性 (state or condition of being useful) · es utíliti (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · mi ratonga (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · es proveedor de servicios (business: areal monopoly provider) · hu segédprogram (computing: software program with specific task) · hu közüzemi szolgáltató (business: areal monopoly provider) · it servizio (business: areal monopoly provider) · pl użyteczność (something that is useful) · hu szolgáltató (business: areal monopoly provider) · tl dahat (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · es utilidad pública (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · sv användbarhet (state or condition of being useful) · da forsyning (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · la utilitas (state or condition of being useful) · sv användbarhet (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · sk úžitok (state or condition of being useful) · pl program użytkowy (computing: software program with specific task) · pt utilidade (something that is useful) · ja 有用 (state or condition of being useful) · nl nutsvoorziening (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · it utilità (state or condition of being useful) · ru утили́та (computing: software program with specific task) · cs užitečnost (state or condition of being useful) · nl nutsbedrijf (business: areal monopoly provider) · pt utilidade (state or condition of being useful) · et kasulikkus (state or condition of being useful) · fi käyttöarvo (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · es utilidad (state or condition of being useful) · fi hyöty (philosophy: well-being, satisfaction, pleasure) · de Nützlichkeit (state or condition of being useful) · sv vattenverk (business: areal monopoly provider) · cy gwasanaeth (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · sa उपयोग (state or condition of being useful) · cmn 效用 (state or condition of being useful) · ca utilitat (state or condition of being useful) · ja 効用 (state or condition of being useful) · ka მნიშვნელოვნება (state or condition of being useful) · cy defnydd-deb (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · ru обслу́живающая програ́мма (computing: software program with specific task) · fi utiliteetti (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · fr utilité (state or condition of being useful) · nl voorziening (business: areal monopoly provider) · bg полза (state or condition of being useful) · hu közmű (business: areal monopoly provider) · ru поле́зная вещь (something that is useful) · fi hyödyllisyys (state or condition of being useful) · tl kagamitan (something that is useful) · pl użyteczność (state or condition of being useful) · nl handigheid (state or condition of being useful) · ro utilitate publică (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · hu -művek (business: areal monopoly provider) · cs veřejná služba (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · ja 実用品 (something that is useful) · hu közmű (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · nl bruikbaarheid (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · nl hulpmiddel (something that is useful) · cs služby (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · cy budd (state or condition of being useful) · enm utilite (state or condition of being useful) · pl usługa (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · sv tjänsteleverantör (business: areal monopoly provider) · hu eszköz (something that is useful) · sv verktyg (computing: software program with specific task) · es servicio público (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · hu hasznavehetőség (state or condition of being useful) · it attrezzo (something that is useful) · gd math (something that is useful) · cy lles (state or condition of being useful) · de Grundversorgung (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · ka მნიშვნელობა (state or condition of being useful) · fi hyödyke (something that is useful) · sv användbar (something that is useful) · gd math (state or condition of being useful) · cmn 用處 /用处 (state or condition of being useful) · it fornitore (business: areal monopoly provider) · gl utilidade (state or condition of being useful) · ru полезность (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · eo utileco (state or condition of being useful) · ro utilitate (state or condition of being useful) · sv kraftverk (business: areal monopoly provider) · hu közműrészvény (business: areal monopoly provider) · sv lönsamhet (economics: ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants) · hu hasznosság (state or condition of being useful) · nl hulpprogramma (computing: software program with specific task) · fi palvelu (business: service provided on a continuous basis by infrastructure) · it strumento (something that is useful)