utility

Definitions

util (useful, from Latin ūtilis) + -ity (quality of) = 'usefulness.' The modern 'water/electric utility' sense is a short hop: these are the public services whose whole point is that everyone uses them.

Why It Means This

Watch one word fan out across fields. Core meaning: usefulness. In daily life, the 'utilities' are the services you can't live without — power, water, gas. In economics, 'utility' is the satisfaction a good gives you. In software, a 'utility' is a small helpful tool. Every sense is just usefulness made concrete in a different domain.

Common Collocations

• 1.public utility公用事业
• 2.utility company公用事业公司
• 3.utility bill水电费账单
• 4.utility room杂物间
• 5.marginal utility边际效用

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Critics questioned the practical utility of the new feature.

• 2.

  Our monthly utility bills go up sharply in winter.

• 3.

  He wrote a small utility to rename thousands of files at once.