Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The quality or condition of being useful; usefulness.
- noun A useful article or device.
- noun A public utility.
- noun A commodity or service, such as electricity, water, or public transportation, that is provided by a public utility.
- noun Computers A utility program.
- adjective Used, serving, or working in several capacities as needed, especially.
- adjective Prepared to play any of the smaller theatrical roles on short notice.
- adjective Capable of playing as a substitute in any of several positions.
- adjective Designed for various often heavy-duty practical uses.
- adjective Raised or kept for the production of a farm product rather than for show or as pets.
- adjective Of the lowest US Government grade.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In political economics, the capacity of an object for the satisfaction of a human want.
- noun The character of being useful; usefulness; profitableness; the state of being serviceable or conducive to some desirable or valuable end.
- noun Use; profit.
- noun A useful thing.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being useful; usefulness; production of good; profitableness to some valuable end.
- noun (Polit. Econ.) Adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants; intrinsic value. See Note under
Value , 2. - noun Happiness; the greatest good, or happiness, of the greatest number, -- the foundation of utilitarianism.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state or condition of being
useful ;usefulness . - noun Something that is useful.
- noun economics The ability of a
commodity tosatisfy needs orwants ; thesatisfaction experienced by theconsumer of that commodity. - noun business, finance A
service provider , such as an electric company or water company; or, thesecurities of such a provider. - noun computing A software program designed to perform a single task or a small range of tasks, often to help
manage andtune computerhardware , anoperating system orapplication software . - noun sports The ability to play multiple positions.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a facility 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 electricity or water or sewage disposal
- noun (economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice
- noun a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
- noun the service (electric power or water or transportation) provided by a public utility
- adjective capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team
- adjective used of beef; usable but inferior
- noun the quality of being of practical use
- noun (computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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That is, when we say that an agent acts so as to maximize her utility, we mean by ˜utility™ simply whatever it is that the agent's behavior suggests her to consistently desire.
Game Theory Ross, Don 2006
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PKG_SOURCE: = bridge-utils-$ (PKG_VERSION). tar.gz PKG_SOURCE_URL: = @SF / bridge PKG_MD5SUM: = 9b7dc52656f5cbec846a7ba3299f73bd PKG_CAT: = zcat include $ (INCLUDE_DIR) / package. mk define Package / bridge SECTION: = base CATEGORY: = Network DEFAULT: = y TITLE: = Ethernet bridging configuration utility DESCRIPTION: = Ethernet bridging configuration utility\\\
OpenWrt : News 2009
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Finally, still other neoclassicists use the term utility as a formal attribute, a common denominator, according to which all specific quests for satisfaction can be ranked, a step needed to allow mathematization and to shore up the assumption of a mono-utility world but with no substantive attributes, the great X.
THE MORAL DIMENSION Amitai Etzioni 1988
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Finally, still other neoclassicists use the term utility as a formal attribute, a common denominator, according to which all specific quests for satisfaction can be ranked, a step needed to allow mathematization and to shore up the assumption of a mono-utility world but with no substantive attributes, the great X.
THE MORAL DIMENSION Amitai Etzioni 1988
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Making complex hydrocarbons obsolete in utility is something only a lawyer could come up with; sorry.
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Using the utility is about as easy as it gets — just launch it and go through the screens to scan your computer for compatibility with the newest version of Windows.
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Scans Your System For Compatibility | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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Using the utility is a no-brainer: just start it up and choose whether to start the screensaver or turn off the monitor when you lock the workstation — the options for pausing media or setting your messenger status are under the Options button.
MonitorES Pauses Media, Turns Off Monitor When You Lock Your PC | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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But many Web sites are network goods (in the economic as well as technical sense), such that their utility is a function of large numbers of people converging on a few big ones.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission said its investigation of this type of vehicle, which it calls a utility terrain vehicle, or UTV, was prompted by various factors, including the number of accident reports and the lawsuits.
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Additionally, the average roll when landing on a utility is a bit lower or higher than 7 depending on the utility and the jail strategy, which affects the rent value.
Boing Boing: September 14, 2003 - September 20, 2003 Archives 2003
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