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Definition of utility noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

utility

noun
 
/juːˈtɪləti/
 
/juːˈtɪləti/
(plural utilities)
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  1. [countable] a service provided for the public, for example an electricity, water or gas supply
    • a privatized electricity utility
    • Rescue teams worked desperately to restore utilities in the area shattered by the hurricane.
    • Legislation will be introduced to regulate the privatized utilities.
    Collocations Moving houseMoving house Renting
    • live in a rented/(especially North American English) rental property
    • rent/​share/​move into a furnished house/(British English) flat/(especially North American English) apartment
    • rent a studio/(British English) a studio flat/(especially North American English) a studio apartment/(British English) a bedsit
    • find/​get a housemate/(British English) a flatmate/(North American English) a roommate
    • sign/​break the lease/​rental agreement/​contract
    • extend/​renew/​terminate the lease/(British English) tenancy
    • afford/​pay the rent/​the bills/(North American English) the utilities
    • (especially British English) fall behind with/ (especially North American English) fall behind on the rent
    • pay/​lose/​return a damage deposit/(North American English) security deposit
    • give/​receive a month’s/​two-weeks’ notice to leave/​vacate the property
    Being a landlord
    • have a flat/​an apartment/​a room (British English) to let/(especially North American English) for rent
    • rent (out)/lease (out)/ (British English) let (out)/sublet a flat/​an apartment/​a house/​a property
    • collect/​increase/​raise the rent
    • evict the existing tenants
    • attract/​find new/​prospective tenants
    • invest in rental property/(British English) property to let/(British English) the buy-to-let market
    Buying
    • buy/​acquire/​purchase a house/(a) property/(especially North American English) (a piece of) prime real estate
    • call/​contact/​use (British English) an estate agent/(North American English) a Realtor™/(North American English) a real estate agent/​broker
    • make/ (British English) put in an offer on a house
    • put down/​save for (British English) a deposit on a house
    • make/​put/​save for (especially North American English) a down payment on a house/​home
    • apply for/​arrange/​take out a mortgage/​home loan
    • (struggle to) pay the mortgage
    • make/​meet/​keep up/​cover the monthly mortgage payments/(British English also) repayments
    • (British English) repossess/ (especially North American English) foreclose on somebody’s home/​house
    Selling
    • put your house/​property on the market/​up for sale/​up for auction
    • increase/​lower your price/​the asking price
    • have/​hold/​hand over the deed/(especially British English) deeds of/​to the house, land, etc.
    see also public utilityTopics Moneyc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • municipal
    • public
    • state-owned
    utility + noun
    • company
    • bill
    • commission
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable] (formal) the quality of being useful synonym usefulness
    • This information is of the highest utility to a historian.
    Extra Examples
    • He argued that the arts have great social utility.
    • This computer is of low utility for the home user.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • great
    • high
    • limited
    verb + utility
    • have
    • maximize
    • enhance
    preposition
    • of… utility
    See full entry
  3. [countable] (computing) a piece of computer software that performs a particular taskTopics Computersc2
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French utilite, from Latin utilitas, from utilis ‘useful’.
See utility in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee utility in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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