Dictionary entry details
• UTILITY (noun)
Meaning:
A company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Synonyms:
utility; public-service corporation; public utility company; public utility
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
service (a company or agency that performs a public service; subject to government regulation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "utility"):
phone company; phone service; telco; telephone company; telephone service (a public utility that provides telephone service)
electric company; light company; power company; power service (a public utility that provides electricity)
water company; waterworks (a public utility that provides water)
gas company; gas service (a public utility that provides gas)
bus company; bus service (a public utility providing local transportation)
Meaning:
The quality of being of practical use
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
usefulness; utility
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)
Attribute:
useful; utile (being of use or service)
useless (having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "utility"):
practicability; practicableness (the quality of being usable)
practicality (concerned with actual use rather than theoretical possibilities)
instrumentality (the quality of being instrumental for some purpose)
serviceability; serviceableness; usability; usableness; useableness (the quality of being able to provide good service)
use (a particular service)
helpfulness (the property of providing useful assistance)
function; purpose; role; use (what something is used for)
detergence; detergency (detergent quality; the quality of having cleansing power)
Antonym:
inutility (the quality of having no practical use)
Meaning:
The service (electric power or water or transportation) provided by a public utility
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context examples:
the cost of utilities never decreases / all the utilities were lost after the hurricane
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
service (work done by one person or group that benefits another)
Meaning:
(economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
metric; system of measurement (a system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic)
Domain category:
economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "utility"):
marginal utility ((economics) the amount that utility increases with an increase of one unit of an economic good or service)
Meaning:
(computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
service program; utility program; utility
Context example:
a computer system provides utility programs to perform the tasks needed by most users
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
computer program; computer programme; program; programme ((computer science) a sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute)
Meronyms (parts of "utility"):
service routine; utility routine (a routine that can be used as needed)
Domain category:
computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "utility"):
trace program (a utility program that exhibits the sequence and results of executing the instructions in another program)
sort program; sorting program (a utility program that sorts data items)
output program (a utility program that organizes the output of a computer)
input program (a utility program that organizes the input to a computer)
diagnostic program (a program that recognizes and explains faults in the equipment or mistakes in a computer program)
device driver; driver ((computer science) a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device)
Meaning:
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
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Context example:
the price of the house included all utilities
Hypernyms ("utility" is a kind of...):
facility; installation (a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "utility"):
electrical plant; electrical system (utility that provides electricity)
heat; heating; heating plant; heating system (utility to warm a building)
plumbing; plumbing system (utility consisting of the pipes and fixtures for the distribution of water or gas in a building and for the disposal of sewage)
• UTILITY (adjective)
Meaning:
Used of beef; usable but inferior
Synonyms:
utility; utility-grade
Similar:
inferior (of low or inferior quality)
Meaning:
Capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team
Synonyms:
substitute; utility
Context example:
a utility infielder
Similar:
secondary (being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate)
