1. (n.) The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's service; the state of being so employed or applied; application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as, the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general use.

2. (v. t.) Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no further use for a book.

3. (v. t.) Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of being used; usefulness; utility.

4. (v. t.) Continued or repeated practice; customary employment; usage; custom; manner; habit.

5. (v. t.) Common occurrence; ordinary experience.

6. (n.) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.

7. (n.) The premium paid for the possession and employment of borrowed money; interest; usury.

8. (n.) The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and limited to A for the use of B.

9. (n.) A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging, as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.

10. (v. t.) 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.

11. (v. t.) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly.

12. (v. t.) To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business.

13. (v. t.) 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.

14. (v. i.) To be wont or accustomed; to be in the habit or practice; as, he used to ride daily; -- now disused in the present tense, perhaps because of the similarity in sound, between use to, and used to.

15. (v. i.) To be accustomed to go; to frequent; to inhabit; to dwell; -- sometimes followed by of.

ablation absolute interest abuse account act toward adaptability advantage appliance applicability application apply appropriateness automatism avail availability bad habit behalf behave toward behoof benefit bestow bleed bleed white bon ton bring into play care for carry on ceremony characteristic claim common conduct conformity consuetude contend with contingent interest control convenience convention cope with creature of habit custom deal by deal with demand do do by do with drain duty easement effectiveness efficacy efficiency employ employment end use engage in equitable interest equity erosion established way estate etiquette exercise exercising exert exertion exploit fall back familiarize fashion fitness folkway follow force of habit formality function functionality go in for goal govern habit habit pattern habituate habitude handle helpfulness holding ill-use immediate purpose impose impose upon interest inure limitation make use of manage manipulate manner manners mark milk misuse mores object objective observance occasion office operability operate operation operational purpose parley part pattern peculiarity percentage play play on ply point practicability practical utility practicality practice praxis prescription presume upon profit profitability proper thing prosecute purpose pursue put forth put out put to use ravages of time regulate relevance respond to right right of entry ritual role run second nature serve service serviceability settlement social convention specialize in stake standard behavior standard usage standing custom stereotype stereotyped behavior steward strict settlement stroke suck dry tackle take take advantage of take on take to take up talk target time-honored practice title tradition treat trick trust ultimate purpose undertake usability usage use ill usefulness utility utilizability utilize value vested interest wage way wear wear and tear weathering what is done wield wont wonting work work at work on work upon worth