USAGE
What does "USAGE" mean?
The way in which something is used, or the amount of it that is used.
Meanings
- The manner in which words and language are actually used by speakers. The dictionary records modern usage rather than dictating it.
- The amount of something consumed or used over a period. Their water usage spiked during the summer heatwave.
- An established custom or habitual practice. By long usage, the youngest child opens the first gift. formal
Word origin
From Old French 'usage' ('custom, practice'), from Latin 'usus' ('a using'), the past participle of 'uti' ('to use').
Remember it
USAGE = USE + AGE: how a word's USE shifts with the AGE it lives in.
A little poem
No rulebook carves the river's bend-
usage is the path the speakers tend.
couplet
Wordplay
- My phone bill and my grammar teacher agree on one thing: it all comes down to usage.
What it teaches
Language is not governed by rules but by usage; the crowd writes the dictionary, the dictionary only takes notes.
Quick facts
What does USAGE mean?
The way in which something is used, or the amount of it that is used.
Is USAGE a valid word?
Yes — USAGE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is USAGE?
USAGE has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does USAGE come from?
From Old French 'usage' ('custom, practice'), from Latin 'usus' ('a using'), the past participle of 'uti' ('to use').
What can USAGE teach us?
Language is not governed by rules but by usage; the crowd writes the dictionary, the dictionary only takes notes.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.