DictionaryAI

usage

noun
YOO-sij/ˈjuːsɪd͡ʒ/

Pluralusages

6 meanings of usage

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The act of using something, such as a tool, a service, or a supply.

    Our water usage goes up every summer.

    The app shows your phone usage for each day of the week.

    Similaruse, consumption, utilization, employment

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The way most people in a place or group use words.

    Like the rules of a game that no one wrote down, but everyone follows.

    In American usage, 'fall' is the season that comes after summer.

    The word's meaning slowly changed as everyday usage shifted.

    Similarparlance, idiom, phraseology

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The way one speaker or writer chooses to use words.

    Like the way someone dresses: each person picks their own style.

    Her usage is very formal, even in short emails to friends.

    His careful usage made the report clear and easy to trust.

    Similarstyle, diction, phrasing, wording, language

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A way of doing things that a group has followed for a long time.

    By long usage, the oldest member of the club opens each meeting.

    The old usages of the village, like ringing the bell when the harvest is in, are still kept today.

    Similarcustom, practice, convention, tradition, habit

    Note
  5. 5
    noununcountable
    Tradition, or the old ways that a group has always followed.

    Old usage says the bride's family sits on the left side of the church.

    The holiday is kept alive by usage rather than by any law.

    Similarcustom, tradition, convention, practice

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    nounarchaiccountable or uncountable
    The way a person is treated, especially when the treatment is harsh or unkind.

    The prisoners complained of cruel usage by the guards.

    Satisfy a child by a constant course of your care and kindness, that you perfectly love him, and he may by degrees be accustom'd to bear very painful and rough usage from you, without flinching or complaining
    1693, [John Locke], “§115”Here, usage means treatment, the way someone is handled.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from an old French word "usage".