Use

The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's service; the state of being so employed or applied; application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as, the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general use.

Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no further use for a book.

Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of being used; usefulness; utility.

Continued or repeated practice; customary employment; usage; custom; manner; habit.

Common occurrence; ordinary experience.

The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.

The premium paid for the possession and employment of borrowed money; interest; usury.

The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and limited to A for the use of B.

A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging, as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.

To make use of; to convert to one's service; to avail one's self of; to employ; to put a purpose; as, to use a plow; to use a chair; to use time; to use flour for food; to use water for irrigation.

To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly.

To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business.

To accustom; to habituate; to render familiar by practice; to inure; -- employed chiefly in the passive participle; as, men used to cold and hunger; soldiers used to hardships and danger.

To be wont or accustomed; to be in the habit or practice; as, he used to ride daily; -- now disused in the present tense, perhaps because of the similarity in sound, between "use to," and "used to."

To be accustomed to go; to frequent; to inhabit; to dwell; -- sometimes followed by of.

what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"

(law) the exercise of the legal right to enjoy the benefits of owning property; "we were given the use of his boat"

(psychology) an automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to a specific situation; may be inherited or acquired through frequent repetition; "owls have nocturnal habits"; "she had a habit twirling the ends of her hair"; "long use had hardened him to it"

(economics) the utilization of economic goods to satisfy needs or in manufacturing; "the consumption of energy has increased steadily"

a particular service; "he put his knowledge to good use"; "patrons have their uses"

habitually do something or be in a certain state or place (use only in the past tense); "She used to call her mother every week but now she calls only occasionally"; "I used to get sick when I ate in that dining hall"; "They used to vacation in the Bahamas"; "she used to be his best friend and now they are enemies"

exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage; "his manipulation of his friends was scandalous"