- Use
- Use Use, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Used}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Using}.]
[OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to
use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of
uncertain origin. Cf. {Utility}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. 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.
[1913 Webster]
Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Some other means I have which may be used. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly. ``I will use him well.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
How wouldst thou use me now? --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Cato has used me ill. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
3. To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business. [1913 Webster]
Use hospitality one to another. --1 Pet. iv. 9. [1913 Webster]
4. 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. [1913 Webster]
I am so used in the fire to blow. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
Thou with thy compeers, Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
{To use one's self}, to behave. [Obs.] ``Pray, forgive me, if I have used myself unmannerly.'' --Shak.
{To use up}. (a) To consume or exhaust by using; to leave nothing of; as, to use up the supplies. (b) To exhaust; to tire out; to leave no capacity of force or use in; to overthrow; as, he was used up by fatigue. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
Syn: Employ.
Usage: {Use}, {Employ}. We use a thing, or make use of it, when we derive from it some enjoyment or service. We employ it when we turn that service into a particular channel. We use words to express our general meaning; we employ certain technical terms in reference to a given subject. To make use of, implies passivity in the thing; as, to make use of a pen; and hence there is often a material difference between the two words when applied to persons. To speak of ``making use of another'' generally implies a degrading idea, as if we had used him as a tool; while employ has no such sense. A confidential friend is employed to negotiate; an inferior agent is made use of on an intrigue. [1913 Webster]
I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the power Which thy discretion gives thee, to control And manage all. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]
To study nature will thy time employ: Knowledge and innocence are perfect joy. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
