use, used, used to

use, used, used to
As a verb, use means "to put into service," "to make use of: "He will use my car today." The principal parts of use are use, used, used: "He used my car yesterday." "He has used my car for a week." When did is added to the verb phrase, however, the word should be use: "He did not use to borrow my car." When used is combined with any form of the verb be, it is followed by a verb form ending in -ing: "He was used to borrowing my car." When one wishes to express habitual action or everyday occurrence, used may correctly appear in a statement such as "He used to borrow only gasoline." Such expressions as "used to could" and "used to would" are dialectal and illiterate.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • use - used - used to — ◊ use If you use something, you do something with it in order to achieve a particular result. They used the money to buy foreign technology. You can use a cheque. It is better not to use a knife. The …   Useful english dictionary

  • used-up — used upˈ adjective Exhausted • • • Main Entry: ↑use * * * used up «YOOZD UHP», adjective. 1. Informal. thoroughly exhausted by physical exertion; tired out. 2. worn out or made useless, as by hard work, age, or dissipation: »[He] is by now a… …   Useful english dictionary

  • used to — adjective in the habit (Freq. 13) I am used to hitchhiking you ll get used to the idea ...was wont to complain that this is a cold world Henry David Thoreau • Syn: ↑wont to • Similar to: ↑accustomed …   Useful english dictionary

  • use — I /ju:s/ n. 1) to make use of 2) to put smt. to (good) use 3) to find a use for 4) to lose; regain the use of (she lost the use of one arm) 5) to deny (the) use of (the visitors were denied use of the library) 6) constant; daily; emergency;… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • used to — W2S1 [ˈju:st tu:] modal v 1.) if something used to happen, it happened regularly or all the time in the past, but does not happen now ▪ He used to go to our school. ▪ We re eating out more often than we used to. did not use to do sth ▪ You didn t …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Use — Use, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Used}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Using}.] [OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of uncertain origin. Cf. {Utility}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To make use of; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Used — Use Use, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Used}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Using}.] [OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of uncertain origin. Cf. {Utility}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To make use of; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the U.S. Department of Defense — is a 2003 report by The MITRE Corporation that documented widespread use of and reliance on free software (termed FOSS ) within the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The report helped end a debate about whether FOSS should be banned from …   Wikipedia

  • use — [yo͞oz; ] for n. [ yo͞os] vt. used [yo͞ozd; ] with [ “] to [, ] usually [ yo͞os′tə] using [ME usen < OFr user < VL * usare < L usus, pp. of uti, to use] 1. to put or bring into action or service; employ for or apply to a given purpose 2 …   English World dictionary

  • use — 1 / yüs/ n 1 a: an arrangement in which property is granted to another with the trust and confidence that the grantor or another is entitled to the beneficial enjoyment of it see also trust; statute of uses in the important laws section ◇ Uses… …   Law dictionary

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