To Utilize
- To make use of; to use.
- To make useful; to find a practical use for.
- To make best use of; to use to its fullest extent, potential, or ability.
- To make do with; to use in manner different from that originally intended[2]
Usage notes
Many style guides advise against the use of utilize and utilise, arguing that the simpler verb use is always preferable (and, analogously, that the noun use is preferable to utilization and utilisation).[3][4][5][6] When used simply as a synonym in ordinary writing (as in “please utilise the rear door when exiting the aircraft”) it can strike readers as pretentious, and authorities advise it should be used sparingly.[7]
However, utilise is suited to senses in which use would require circumlocution. Examples of such senses include:
- put to use, as in “... utilise the production capacities of the local industries fully before ordering from foreign industries”;
- exploit or consume, as in “... utilise the support that the system provides, such as by making the most of tax exemptions and special supplies”; or
- make best use of (profitable, practical use, not just general use), as in “... farmers must utilise their land fully to boost food security”.