Word family noun usage use disuse misuse reuse usefulness ≠ uselessness user adjective reusable used ≠ unused disused useful ≠ useless usable ≠ unusable verb use misuse reuse adverb usefully ≠ uselessly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishuseuse1 /juːz/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 USE somethinguse something [transitive] if you use a particular tool, method, service, ability etc, you do something with that tool, by means of that method etc, for a particular purpose Can I use your phone? I’ll show you which room you can use. I always use the same shampoo. Use your imagination when planning meals. She booked the flight using a false name.easy/difficult/simple etc to use Drop-down menus make the program very easy to use.use something for (doing) something They were using animals for scientific experiments. Bob uses the van for picking up groceries.use something as something My parents use the house as a holiday home.use something to do something Most people now use their cars to go shopping.use force (=use violent methods)2 amount of something [transitive]USE/CONSUME to take an amount of something from a supply of food, gas, money etc We use about £40 worth of electricity a month. Standard washing machines use about 40 gallons of water.3 treat somebody unfairly [transitive]USE A PERSON to make someone do something for you in order to get something you want Can’t you see that Howard is just using you? Gerald had been using her for his own ends.4 an advantage [transitive]USE something to take advantage of a situationuse something to do something She used her position as manager to get jobs for her friends.5 → could use something6 word [transitive]SL to say or write a particular word or phrase We use the word ‘hardware’ to describe the actual machine. Don’t use bad language.7 drugs [intransitive, transitive]MDDADDICTED to regularly take illegal drugs → used toTHESAURUSuse to use something for a particular purposeDo you mind if I use your phone?They rebuilt the church using local stone.We use a range of different methods.make use of something to use something that is available to youStaff can make use of a wide range of facilities.She made full use of her contacts within the organization.employ formal to use a particular method or skill in order to achieve somethingThe surgeons employed a new technique.They employed every means at their disposal (=every available method). utilize formal to use something that is available to you, for a practical purposeThe company has developed a new way to utilize solar energy.a better way of utilizing the spaceexploit to use something as fully and effectively as possible, or to use something that will give you an advantage over your opponentThe country’s natural resources have not yet been fully exploited.He was quick to exploit any weakness in his opponent’s argument.apply to use something such as a method, idea, or system in a particular situationNew technology is being applied to almost every industrial process.I wanted to apply the things that I had learned on the course.draw on something to use information, knowledge, or experience that you have learned in the pastHe was able to draw on his own experience as a diplomat when he was writing the book.Journalists draw on information from many different sources.resort to something to use violence, force, threats etc as a way of achieving somethingExtremists on both sides resort to violence. We are prepared to resort to force if necessary.to use your power or your rightsexercise formal to use your rights, authority, influence etcOnly 40% of the population exercised their right to vote.Congress must decide whether to exercise its veto.wield /wiːld/ formal to use great power or influenceThe central banks wield enormous power. → use something ↔ up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
use• First, the wrong caulking had been used.• Are we allowed to use a dictionary in the test?• She lets herself be used and then dropped by almost every man she meets.• I try not to use bad language around the kids.• Morgan stopped using drugs and alcohol six years ago when he entered a long-term treatment program.• She first started using drugs when she was thirteen.• Planning is essential to make sure that resources are used effectively.• Carla often doesn't use good judgment in selecting boyfriends.• Martens uses her stage name when she travels.• Most scholars would agree that Mark came first and the other two used him in writing their accounts.• In his political life, he was not above using his families for his own ends.• Charles was able to use his family connection for his own personal advancement.• We shall use his perceived activities as an excuse for not growing up.• The drug smugglers used innocent travellers to carry the drugs through customs.• Every other machine in Harley's range uses its trusted formula of a 45 V-twin in a steel backbone frame.• This can be on-line or off-line recognition of hand-printed characters, or of machine-printed characters using optical character recognition.• A spectrograph uses optical elements called gratings or prisms to separate the light gathered by a telescope into its component colors.• The average Westerner uses over 260 lbs of paper every year.• Right-wing activists used people's fears of unemployment as a way of stirring up extremism.• Researchers often use questionnaires in their work.• Silly me, I have begun to conjure up an image of Newt Gingrich as a man more used than using.• Now that we have a car we very rarely use the buses.• The experts were asked to use the four-point system commonly used in schools.• How often do you use the library?• Can't you see Tad's just using you?• I can't tell you what to do - you must use your own discretion.• Can I use your pen?• Do you mind if I use your phone?use force• The police have recently had to defend their policy of using force against rioters.• The regime was quite willing to use force and terror against its enemies.• Despite Boss's success, Keith used the Quaker decision to use force as a new argument against the majority.• He was quite prepared to use force if that was necessary.• Gallagher had promised to use force if the students closed down the campus, but now he wavered.• This has the apparently anomalous result that both the policeman and the defendant are using force lawfully.• Crackdown on problem children Social workers have been given new powers to use force to control troublesome youngsters in care.• The law permits every citizen to use reasonable force to defend themselves or their property.• He remains prepared to use force to do that.• Truman did not threaten to use force to impose his views.• He knew from their previous struggle he would have to use force to subdue her.use ... language• Prince Charles yesterday parodied Hamlet to illustrate how literature could be destroyed by bad use of language.• She could understand the books quite well, she considered, but the papers seemed to use a different language.• The loss of Lardie Moonlight Tribal people are sometimes thought to use primitive languages.• Decide from the very beginning that your aim is to use the target language as much as possible in the sessions.• Hilton's use of language in Scale 2 is more creative than in Scale 1.• Even officers used the language of the gutter.• I used the language of the speculator.• We use language to talk about the meanings of linguistic expressions as well as about things that are not meanings.useuse2 /juːs/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 [singular, uncountable]USE something the action or fact of using something an exit for use in emergenciesuse of the increasing use of computers in education2 [countable]USE something a purpose for which something can be used Robots have many different uses in modern industry.have/find a use for something The cupboard is full of things I can never find a use for.3 → make use of something4 → put something to (good) use5 → the use of something6 → be (of) no use (to somebody)7 → it’s no use doing something8 → it’s no use!9 → what’s the use (of something)10 → be in use11 → for the use of somebody12 → be of use (to somebody/something)13 → come into use14 → go/be out of use15 → have no use for somebody/something16 → something/somebody has their uses17 [countable]SL one of the meanings of a word, or the way that a particular word is usedCOLLOCATIONSadjectiveswidespread/extensive use (=when something is used in many places or situations, or among many people)The widespread use of computers changed business completely.efficient useDoing the work in stages makes the most efficient use of resources.effective useWe need to consider whether there could be a more effective use of our time.heavy/frequent use (=when something is used a lot)The heavy use of pesticides in the area led to severe health problems.regular useThese drugs are not recommended for regular use.greater useWe want to encourage employees to make greater use of the sports facilities.land useOur department is responsible for establishing the guidelines for land use in the county.drug/alcohol useDrug use among teenage boys is on the increase. Examples from the Corpus
use• Herring, 55, is a former drug user who started the foundation in San Jose in 1980.• It appears that chronic caffeine use may cause up-regulation or down-regulation of other neurotransmitter systems as well.• Technology developed for the space program have civilian uses as well.• Robots have many different uses in modern industry.• It's main use is as a cleaning agent for metals.• A pastry brush has a variety of uses in the kitchen.• It leads to a crime: Some one is murdering claimants and putting their insurance money to private use.• The land has been developed for tourism and other recreational uses.• There have been complaints about the use of excessive force by the police.• He had no expectations or intentions that they would ever become constantly updated guidebooks for the use of millions.• There has been a decline in the use of the subway system over recent years.• And the lowest of low points was the use of five captains in seven Tests in 1988-89.• One in 12 people who took part in the survey was without the use of their machine for over a fortnight.• the use of animals in scientific experiments• The ramifications of the wrong use of imagination have to be fully realized before we can hope to control it.use of• Increased use of fertilizers has led to water pollution.• The military has agreed to allow public use of the land.• He lost the use of both legs as a result of the accident.• Joe's given me the use of his office till he gets back.have/find a use for something• Obviously, Amphi planned to buy the land and find a use for it later.• Then they'd have a use for their bunkers.• I use the same archetypes storytellers have used for centuries.• Mr Macdonald claims the orders will deny traditional fishermen access to areas they have used for generations.• More than a decade after DuPont first came up with Biomax, it has yet to find a use for it.• In which case he will have use for that thick skin very soon.• But out on the court, the big women find a use for these bodies that challenge what society deems feminine.Origin use1 (1200-1300) Old French user, from Latin usus, past participle of uti “to use” use2 (1200-1300) Old French us, from Latin usus; → USE1 