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Utility - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Utility : adj
1: used of beef; usable but inferior [syn: utility(a), utility-grade]
2: capable of substituting in any of several positions on a
team; "a utility infielder" [syn: utility(a), substitute(a)]
(noun)
1: a company that performs a public service; subject to
government regulation [syn: public utility, public-service
corporation]
2: the quality of being of practical use [syn: usefulness]
[ant: inutility, inutility]
3: the service provided by a utility company; "the cost of
utilities never decreases"
4: (economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any
situation involving choice
5: (computer science) a program designed for general support of
the processes of a computer; "a computer system provides
utility programs to perform the tasks needed by most
users" [syn: utility program, service program]
6: 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; "the price of the house included all
utilities"
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Utility : \U*til"i*ty\, n. [OE. utilite, F. utilit['e], L.
utilitas, fr. utilis useful. See Utile.]
1. The quality or state of being useful; usefulness;
production of good; profitableness to some valuable end;
as, the utility of manure upon land; the utility of the
sciences; the utility of medicines.
The utility of the enterprises was, however, so
great and obvious that all opposition proved
useless. --Macaulay.
2. (Polit. Econ.) Adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants;
intrinsic value. See Note under Value, 2.
Value in use is utility, and nothing else, and in
political economy should be called by that name and
no other. --F. A.
Walker.
3. Happiness; the greatest good, or happiness, of the
greatest number, -- the foundation of utilitarianism. --J.
S. Mill.
Syn: Usefulness; advantageous; benefit; profit; avail;
service.
Usage: Utility, Usefulness. Usefulness has an Anglo-Saxon
prefix, utility is Latin; and hence the former is used
chiefly of things in the concrete, while the latter is
employed more in a general and abstract sense. Thus,
we speak of the utility of an invention, and the
usefulness of the thing invented; of the utility of an
institution, and the usefulness of an individual. So
beauty and utility (not usefulness) are brought into
comparison. Still, the words are often used
interchangeably.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Utility : Utility: In the analysis of health outcomes, utility is a number between 0 and 1 that is assigned to a state of health or an outcome. Perfect health has a value of 1. Death has a value of 0.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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