2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Utility  \U*til"i*ty\,  n.  [OE.  utilite,  F.  utilit['e],  L. 
  utilitas  fr  utilis  useful.  See  {Utile}.] 
  1.  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. 
 
  The  utility  of  the  enterprises  was  however,  so 
  great  and  obvious  that  all  opposition  proved 
  useless.  --Macaulay. 
 
  2.  (Polit.  Econ.)  Adaptation  to  satisfy  the  desires  or  wants 
  intrinsic  value.  See  Note  under  {Value},  2. 
 
  Value  in  use  is  utility,  and  nothing  else,  and  in 
  political  economy  should  be  called  by  that  name  and 
  no  other  --F.  A. 
  Walker. 
 
  3.  Happiness;  the  greatest  good,  or  happiness,  of  the 
  greatest  number,  --  the  foundation  of  utilitarianism.  --J. 
  S.  Mill. 
 
  Syn:  Usefulness;  advantageous;  benefit;  profit;  avail; 
  service. 
 
  Usage:  {Utility},  {Usefulness}.  Usefulness  has  an  Anglo-Saxon 
  prefix,  utility  is  Latin;  and  hence  the  former  is  used 
  chiefly  of  things  in  the  concrete,  while  the  latter  is 
  employed  more  in  a  general  and  abstract  sense  Thus 
  we  speak  of  the  utility  of  an  invention,  and  the 
  usefulness  of  the  thing  invented;  of  the  utility  of  an 
  institution,  and  the  usefulness  of  an  individual.  So 
  beauty  and  utility  (not  usefulness)  are  brought  into 
  comparison.  Still  the  words  are  often  used 
  interchangeably. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  utility 
  adj  1:  used  of  beef;  usable  but  inferior  [syn:  {utility(a)},  {utility-grade}] 
  2:  capable  of  substituting  in  any  of  several  positions  on  a 
  team;  "a  utility  infielder"  [syn:  {utility(a)},  {substitute(a)}] 
  n  1:  a  company  that  performs  a  public  service;  subject  to 
  government  regulation  [syn:  {public  utility},  {public-service 
  corporation}] 
  2:  the  quality  of  being  of  practical  use  [syn:  {usefulness}] 
  [ant:  {inutility},  {inutility}] 
  3:  the  service  provided  by  a  utility  company;  "the  cost  of 
  utilities  never  decreases" 
  4:  (computer  science)  a  program  designed  for  general  support  of 
  the  processes  of  a  computer;  "a  computer  system  provides 
  utility  programs  to  perform  the  tasks  needed  by  most 
  users"  [syn:  {utility  program},  {service  program}] 
  5:  a  unit  composed  of  one  or  more  pieces  of  equipment  connected 
  to  or  part  of  a  structure  and  designed  to  provide  a 
  service  such  as  heat  or  light  or  water  or  sewage  disposal: 
  "the  price  of  the  house  included  all  utilities" 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z