Adjacent Words

Used definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

U'SED, pp. s as z. Employed; occupied; treated.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: employed in accomplishing something; "the principle of surprise is the most used and misused of all the principles of war"- H.H.Arnold & I.C.Eaker [ant: misused]
2: of persons; taken advantage of; "after going out of his way to help his friend get the job he felt not appreciated but used" [syn: exploited, ill-used, put-upon, used, victimized, victimised]
3: previously used or owned by another; "bought a secondhand (or used) car" [syn: secondhand, used]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 14th century 1. employed in accomplishing something 2. that has endured use; specifically secondhand <a used car> 3. accustomed, habituated

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.] 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. Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs. --Shak. Some other means I have which may be used. --Milton. 2. To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly. ``I will use him well.'' --Shak. How wouldst thou use me now? --Milton. Cato has used me ill. --Addison. 3. To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business. Use hospitality one to another. --1 Pet. iv. 9. 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. I am so used in the fire to blow. --Chaucer. Thou with thy compeers, Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels. --Milton. 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.] 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. I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the power Which thy discretion gives thee, to control And manage all. --Cowper. To study nature will thy time employ: Knowledge and innocence are perfect joy. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

I. MODAL USES AND PHRASES Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something used to be done or used to be the case, it was done regularly in the past or was the case in the past. People used to come and visit him every day... He used to be one of the professors at the School of Education... I feel more compassion and less anger than I used to. PHRASE 2. If something used not to be done or used not to be the case, it was not done in the past or was not the case in the past. The forms did not use to and did not used to are also found, especially in spoken English. Borrowing used not to be recommended... At some point kids start doing things they didn't use to do. They get more independent... He didn't used to like anyone walking on the lawns in the back garden. PHRASE: with neg 3. If you are used to something, you are familiar with it because you have done it or experienced it many times before. I'm used to having my sleep interrupted... It doesn't frighten them. They're used to it. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/-ing 4. If you get used to something or someone, you become familiar with it or get to know them, so that you no longer feel that the thing or person is unusual or surprising. This is how we do things here. You'll soon get used to it... He took some getting used to... PHRASE: V inflects II. ADJECTIVE USES 1. A used object is dirty or spoiled because it has been used, and usually needs to be thrown away or washed. ...a used cotton ball stained with makeup... He took a used envelope bearing an Irish postmark. ? unused ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. A used car has already had one or more owners. Would you buy a used car from this man?... His only big purchase has been a used Ford. = second-hand ADJ: usu ADJ n

Moby Thesaurus

ablated, acquainted with, adapted to, applied, by the board, cast-off, consumed, depleted, dissipated, down the drain, employed, eroded, exercised, exerted, expended, familiar with, forfeit, forfeited, gone, gone to waste, hand-me-down, in use, irretrievable, long-lost, lost, lost to, misspent, not new, occupied, old, out the window, pawed-over, run to seed, secondhand, shrunken, spent, squandered, unnew, used to, used up, wasted, worn, worn away