utility

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

• IPA^(key): /juːˈtɪ.lɪ.ti/, /jəˈtɪ.lɪ.ti/

• Audio (RP)

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• Rhymes: -ɪlɪti

utility (countable and uncountable, plural utilities)

1. The state or condition of being useful; usefulness.
   • 1817 December​, [Jane Austen], “III”, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 1818, OCLC 318384910:

     "The profession has its utility, but I should be sorry to see any friend of mine belonging to it."

2. Something that is useful.
   • 1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 320:

     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.

3. (economics) The ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants; the satisfaction experienced by the consumer of that commodity.
4. (philosophy) Well-being, satisfaction, pleasure, or happiness.
5. (business, finance) A natural or legal areal monopoly distributer of a commodity (less often a service) delivered in continuous flows to multiple consumers from a common physical, infrastructural network, such as an electric company or water company; or, the securities of such a provider.
6. (computing) 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.

   • 1982, InfoWorld (volume 4, number 10, page 35)

     The system includes an 8080 and a Z80 assembler, a Tektronix format downloader and other utilities.

7. (sports) The ability to play multiple positions.

• disutility
• inutility

• beautility
• multiutility
• utilitarian

utility

1. Having to do with, or owned by, a service provider.

   utility line; utility bill

2. (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.
   • 1943 March and April, “G.W.R. Rolling Stock Colours”, in Railway Magazine, page 106:

     "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.

• (state of being useful): usefulness, value, advantages, benefit, return, merits, virtue, note
• See also Thesaurus:utility

• “utility”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

utility m (plural utilitys)

1. (sports) utility