Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Utility |
UtilityAdjective1. Used of beef; usable but inferior. 2. Capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team; "a utility infielder". Noun1. A company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation. 2. The quality of being of practical use. 3. The service provided by a utility company; "the cost of utilities never decreases". 4. (economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice. 5. (computer science) a program designed for general support of the processes of a computer; "a computer system provides utility programs to perform the tasks needed by most users". 6. A facility composed of one or more pieces of equipment connected to or part of a structure and designed to provide a service such as heat or electricity or water or sewage disposal: "the price of the house included all utilities". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "utility" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Building & Civil Engineering | A unit composed of one or more pieces of equipment usu. connected to or part of a structure and designed to provide a service. Source: European Union. (references) |
Computing | A program provided by software houses, to carry out standard operations on files. Source: European Union. (references) |
Electrical Engineering | A regulated entity which exhibits the characteristics of a natural monopoly. Source: European Union. (references) |
Energy | A regulated entity which exhibitsthe characteristics of a natural monopoly. For the purposes of electricindustry restructuring, "utility" refers to the regulated,vertically-integrated electric company. "Transmission utility" refersto the regulated owner/operator of the transmission system only. "Distribution utility" refers to the regulated owner/operator ofthe distribution system which serves retail customers. (references) |
Transportation | Generalized term for aircraft intended for, or assigned to, variety of missions mainly of transport nature but with limited payload. Source: European Union. (references) |
| The primary perceived value(subjectively determined)of consumer goods and services. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public good. Public utilities are generally regarded in same places as natural monopolies or like specially regulated sectors.In command economies, these functions are generally performed directly by the state.
In mixed economies, public utilities are usually tightly regulated by the state to avoid the adverse effects of de facto monopolistic private enterprise.
In some poorer countries, these functions may not be available at all.
Examples of utilities are:
Developments in technology have eroded some of the monopoly aspects of traditional public utilities. For instance, electricity generation, electricity retailing, telecommunication and postal services have become competitive in some countries and the trend towards liberalization, deregulation and privatization of public utilities is growing.
- electric power transmission and electricity distribution
- drinking water purification and distribution
- sewage treatment and disposal
- other waste disposal
- natural gas distribution
- public transport by bus, train, etc.
- cable television and telephone lines
See also:
- Liberalization
- Electricity market
- Energy market
- Telecommunications.
- Universal service.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Public utility."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
This article is about "Utility" in economics and in game theory.
- For utility companies and similar concepts, see public utility.
- For utilities in computers, see Computer software
In economics, utility is a measure of the satisfaction gained from the consumption of a "package" of goods and services.
The concept of utility is a measure of happiness or satisfaction. It is applied by economists in such topics as the indifference curve, which measures the combination of a basket of commodities that an individual or a community requests at a given level(s) of satisfaction. The concept is also used in Utility Functions, Pareto Maximization, Edgeworth Box and Contract Curve.
The doctrine of utilitarianism saw the maximisation of utility as a moral criterion for the organisation of society. According to utilitarians, such as Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1876), society should aim to maximise the total utility of individuals, aiming for 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number'.
Utility theory assumes that humankind is rational. That is, people maximize their utility wherever possible. For instance, one would request more of a good if it is available and if one has the ability to acquire that amount, if this is the rational thing to do in the circumstances.
Cardinal and ordinal utility
There are mainly two kinds of measurement of utility implemented by economists: cardinal utility and ordinal utility.
Utility was originally viewed as a measurable quantity, so that it would be possible to measure the utility of each individual in the society with respect to each good available in the society, and to add these together to yield the total utility of all people with respect to all goods in the society. Society could then aim to maximise the total utility of all people in society, or equivalently the average utility per person. This conception of utility as a measurable quantity that could be aggregated across individuals is called 'cardinal utility'.
Cardinal utility quantitatively measure the preference of an individual towards a certain commodity. Numbers assigned to different goods or services can be compared. A utility of 100 units towards a cup of vodka is twice as desirable as a cup of coffee with a utility level of 50 units.
The concept of cardinal utility suffers from the absence of an objective measure of utility when comparing the utility gained from consumption of a particular good by one individual as opposed to another individual.
For this reason, neoclassical economics abandoned utility as a foundation for the analysis of economic behaviour, in favour of an analysis based upon preferences. This led to the development of tools such as indifference curves to explain economic behaviour.
In this analysis, an individual is observed to prefer one choice to another. Preferences can be ordered from most satisfing to least satisfing. Only the ordering is important: the magnitude of the numerical values are not important except in as much as they establish the order. A utility of 100 towards an ice-cream is not twice as desirable as a utility of 50 towards candy. All that can be said is that ice-cream is preferred to candy. There is no attempt to explain why one choice is preferred to another; hence no need for a quantitative concept of utility.
It is nonetheless possible, given a set of preferences which satisfy certain criteria of reasonableness, to find a utility function that will explain these preferences. Such a utility function takes on higher values for choices that the individual prefers. Utility functions are a useful and widely used tool in modern economics.
A utility function to describe an individual's set of preferences clearly is not unique. If the value of the utility function were to be, eg, doubled, squared, or subjected to any other strictly monotonically increasing function, it would still describe the same preferences. With this approach to utility, known as ordinal utility it is not possible to compare utility between individuals, or find the total utility for society as the Utilitarians hoped to do.
Utility in game theory
In game theory utility is represented as a function representing the anticipated payoff of each player corresponding to their selected strategy. The domain of any utility function is defined below.
A player has an anticipation in ζ for any given move and their utility function has a natural operation defined as:
- Consider a system ζ of entities u, υ, ω
where 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 and the probability of u is α(u)
- αu + (1 - α)υ
and the probability of υ is (1 - α)(υ).The correspondence of utility and preference is denoted by:
u being the utility and V(u) the value attached to it.
- u → α = V(u)
The following axioms are required:
- 1) u > υ implies V(u) > V(υ) and is a complete ordering of ζ
- 2) u and υ can exist only in three mutually exclusive orderings
- u > υ; u < υ; u = υ;
- and all ζ are fully transitive of order
- 3) u > υ implies that u > αu + (1 - α)υ
- 4) u > υ > ω implies that their exists an α such that
- αu + (1 - α)υ > ω
- therefore α(ζ) is continuous
- 5) entities in ζ can be combined algebraically such that
- αu + (1 - α)υ = (1 - α)υ + αu
- and
- α(βu + (1 - β)υ) + (1 - α)υ = γu + (1 - γ)υ
- where γ = α(β)
See also
- microeconomics
- expectation utilities
- list of economics topics
- game theory
References and additional reading
- Neumann, John von and Morgenstern, Oskar Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press. 1944 sec.ed. 1947
- Nash Jr., John F. The Bargaining Problem. Econometrica 18:155 1950
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Utility."
Synonyms: UtilitySynonyms: substitute(a) (adj), utility(a) (adj), utility-grade (adj), public utility (n), public-service corporation (n), service program (n), usefulness (n), utility program (n). (additional references) |
| Antonym: inutility (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Expedience | Noun: expedience, expediency; desirableness, desirability; Adjective: fitness; (agreement); utility; propriety; opportunism; advantage. |
Good | Goodness; utility; remedy; pleasure giving. |
The Drama | Actor, thespian, player; method actor; stage player, strolling player; stager, performer; mime, mimer; artists; comedian, tragedian; tragedienne, Roscius; star, movie star, star of stage and screen, superstar, idol, sex symbol; supporting actor, supporting cast; ham, hamfatter; masker. pantomimist, clown harlequin, buffo, buffoon, farceur, grimacer, pantaloon, columbine; punchinello; pulcinello, pulcinella; extra, bit-player, walk-on role, cameo appearance; mute, figurante, general utility; super, supernumerary. |
Utility | Noun: utility; usefulness; Adjective: efficacy, efficiency, adequacy; service, use, stead, avail; help; (aid); applicability; Adjective: subservience; (instrumentality); function; (business); value; worth; (goodness); money's worth; productiveness; cui bono; (intention); utilization; (use) step in the right direction. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Master Sergeant Ivan Alva, chief of accounting, together with Yoko Vanoss review accounts receivable records from other agencies, such as the Defense Commissary Agency, Department of the Navy, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, to ensure utility. |  | [A PHS physician takes the pulse of a man seated next to a utility sink]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Steaming off Portland, Maine, on 9 May 1945. Photographed from a Utility Squadron 15 (VJ-15) aircraft. Credit: NAVY. |  | A Navy sailor mans a .30 caliber machine gun on a utility boat cruising in the Rung Sat Special Zone, Republic of Vietnam, during Operation "Jackstay", 26 April 1966. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Architectural drawing for a public utility company building for Virginia Electric & Power Co., 1207-1211 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia. Perspective rendering. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Kitchen-dining area of Case Study House No. 8. 2 3/16" unglazed ceramic tile extends from dining area into kitchen and to utility area beyond. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Utility units at Marysville resettlement camp. Shows sites and units, towels, hot shower, and laundry. California. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Main utility building. Visalia, California. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | A land and utility municipal housing project, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | David Phillips, residence, R.F.D., Troy, New York. Utility closet. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Power_pole" by Jason Smith Commentary: "Utility pole." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Chuang Tzu | All men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the untility of futility. |
France | Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be based only upon public utility. |
Johann Friedrich Von Schiller | Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers must do service and all talents swear allegiance. |
Karl Marx | Nothing can have value without being an object of utility. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The rights of priority, provided by Article 4 of the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of Paris, of March 20, 1883, revised at Washington in 1911 or by any other Convention or Statute, for the filing or registration of applications for patents or models of utility, and for the registration of trade marks, designs and models which had not expired on August 1, 1914, and those which have arisen during the war, or would have arisen but for the war, shall be extended by each of the High Contracting Parties in favour of all nationals of the other High Contracting Parties for a period of six months after the coming into force of the present Treaty. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The proportion of detectable mutations is an important indicator of the utility of a population-screening program. (references) | |
Construction and utility workers can be exposed when they work in crawl spaces under houses or in vacant buildings that may have a rodent population. (references) | ||
The utility of cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with more advanced or recurrent disease has been investigated in clinical trials with a variety of study designs. (references) | ||
Business | TransQ qualifies bidders for public utility and transport procurements. (references) | |
Public Power Corporation (PPC) is now the largest state owned utility in Greece. (references) | ||
The German market for Special Utility Vehicles (SUVs) differs substantively from the American market. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Congo | The establishment and operation of religious institutions is provided for and regulated through a statutory order on the Regulation of Non-profit Associations and Public Utility Institutions. (references) |
Paraguay | In February an estimated 4,000 farmers in Alto Parana and Itapua protested rising utility and fuel prices, by blocking the highway between Encarnacion and Cuidad del Este with tractors and other farm equipment. (references) | |
Economic History | France | Certificates of Utility are also granted by INPI (see above). (references) |
Human Rights | Jamaica | Following his investigation, in July the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that the civilian head of the police unit and two telephone company employees be charged with interfering in the operation of a public utility. (references) |
Minorities | Hungary | Local government officials have punished Roma who were unable to pay utility fees by evicting their families from residences without providing alternative housing. (references) |
Political Economy | CHILE | Registration of a utility model is valid for a nonrenewable term of 10 years. (references) |
Trade | Philippines | Only the modern metric system (SI units) can be used to measure any product, commodity, material and utility. (references) |
Vietnam | The electric current is AC 50 cycles, 220/380. The electric utility system of Vietnam is being standardized at 3 phase, 220/330 volts, 4 wires. (references) | |
Costa Rica | Although expiration dates are required to be on all food product labels, Costa Rican importers are of mixed opinion regarding their utility, and the Government of Costa Rica is inconsistent in enforcing this requirement. (references) | |
Travel | Saudi Arabia | Typical rental costs in a modern commercial center are approximately $220 per square meter, inclusive of maintenance and utility charges. (references) |
Women | Pakistan | Human Rights Watch also reported that women face problems in the collection of evidence; that the doctors tasked to examine rape victims often believe that the victims are lying; that they are trained insufficiently and have inadequate facilities for the collection of forensic evidence pertaining to rape; that they do not testify very effectively in court; and that they tend to focus on the virginity status of the victim, and, due either to an inadequate understanding of the need for prompt medical evaluations or to inadequate resources, often delay the medical examinations for many days or even weeks, making any evidence that they collect of dubious utility. (references) |
Worker Rights | Qatar | No worker in a public utility, health, or security service may strike if it would harm the public or lead to property damage. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | SEAL, n. A mark impressed upon certain kinds of documents to attest their authenticity and authority. Sometimes it is stamped upon wax, and attached to the paper, sometimes into the paper itself. Sealing, in this sense, is a survival of an ancient custom of inscribing important papers with cabalistic words or signs to give them a magical efficacy independent of the authority that they represent. In the British museum are preserved many ancient papers, mostly of a sacerdotal character, validated by necromantic pentagrams and other devices, frequently initial letters of words to conjure with; and in many instances these are attached in the same way that seals are appended now. As nearly every reasonless and apparently meaningless custom, rite or observance of modern times had origin in some remote utility, it is pleasing to note an example of ancient nonsense evolving in the process of ages into something really useful. Our word "sincere" is derived from sine cero, without wax, but the learned are not in agreement as to whether this refers to the absence of the cabalistic signs, or to that of the wax with which letters were formerly closed from public scrutiny. Either view of the matter will serve one in immediate need of an hypothesis. The initials L.S., commonly appended to signatures of legal documents, mean locum sigillis, the place of the seal, although the seal is no longer used -- an admirable example of conservatism distinguishing Man from the beasts that perish. The words locum sigillis are humbly suggested as a suitable motto for the Pribyloff Islands whenever they shall take their place as a sovereign State of the American Union. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | The establishment of additional cross posts, especially to some of the important points in the Western and Northern parts of the Union, can not fail to be of material utility. |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | Should the Legislature think it expedient to pass this roll in review and try all its parts by the test of public utility, they may be assured of every aid and light which Executive information can yield. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | I am also submitting proposals for selective reform of State utility commission regulations. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Utility" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.81% of the time. "Utility" is used about 1,048 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.81% | 1,046 | 7,128 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.19% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,048 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Australia | Utility Services Corporation | Canada | International Utility Structures Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "utility": cooperative electric utility ♦ disk file utility ♦ disk/tape copy utility ♦ distribution utility ♦ electric utility capacity ♦ electric utility layoff ♦ electric utility losses ♦ electric utility surplus ♦ health utility index ♦ marginal utility ♦ municipally owned electric utility ♦ PCI Configuration Utility ♦ public utility ♦ public utility company ♦ public utility corporation ♦ sport utility ♦ sport utility vehicle ♦ text Processing Utility ♦ total utility ♦ utility aircraft ♦ utility bond ♦ utility company ♦ utility goods ♦ utility helicopter ♦ utility man ♦ utility plant ♦ utility product ♦ utility program ♦ utility programme ♦ utility revenue bond ♦ utility room ♦ utility routine ♦ utility system. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "utility": utility-based, utility-coder, utility-creating, utility-grade, utility-maximising, utility-maximizing, utility-they, utility-webbing. | |
Ending with "utility": anti-utility, cost-utility, sports-utility, sub-utility. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
system utility | 3,444 | file utility | 170 |
utility trailer | 3,349 | colorado springs utility | 167 |
internet utility | 2,232 | utility sink | 158 |
window utility | 2,216 | fix it utility | 158 |
utility | 1,840 | pc utility | 149 |
norton utility | 1,437 | public utility commission | 144 |
network utility | 1,197 | used utility trailer | 129 |
electric utility | 1,003 | miss utility | 127 |
sport utility vehicle | 733 | tuneup utility | 125 |
low level format utility | 673 | sport utility | 123 |
icq utility | 414 | free utility | 122 |
utility vehicle | 403 | california public utility commission | 118 |
hard disk utility | 367 | texas public utility commission | 118 |
utility billing | 282 | hard drive utility | 109 |
software utility | 278 | backup utility | 100 |
utility cart | 237 | manager system utility | 99 |
disk utility | 200 | zip utility | 93 |
norton utility download | 194 | utility shed | 93 |
northeast utility | 189 | huntsville utility | 91 |
ace utility | 171 | utility truck | 89 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "utility"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | vegël (applicator, cat's paw, doohickey, dummy, engine, gadget, implement, instrument, Jigger, tool, utensil), leverdi (account, advantage, gain, interest, profit), hair (gain, profit), gjë e dobishme, dobi (advantage, avail, benefit, boot, expedience, expediency, gain, good, instrumentality, interest, use, value). (various references) | |
Arabic | فائدة (advantage, avail, behoof, benefit, good, increase, interest, living, pay off, pay-book, profit, scoop, use, usefulness, usury, welfare, worth), ممكن إستخدامه كبديل, منفعة (advantage, use, usefulness), مؤسسة عامة, مؤسسة ذات منفعة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | удобство (accommodation, convenience, cosiness, ease), удобна вещ, практична вещ, полза (account, advantage, avail, behoof, boot, expedience, expediency, favour, good, interest, profit, use, value, velvet), полезност (usefulness, value), полезна вещ. (various references) | |
Chinese | 公益事業 , 公共事业. (various references) | |
Czech | užitný, užitek (avail, benefit, good), užiteènost (use, usefulness, value), spotřební, služba (duty, Favor, favour, ministration, office, service, turn), prospìšnost (helpfulness, usefulness), štìstí (cess, felicity, fortune, good luck, happiness, joy, luck, sunshine). (various references) | |
Danish | serviceprogram (service program, utility program), nytte, hjælpeprogram (service program, service programme, utility program, utility programme), forsyningsmonopol. (various references) | |
Dutch | utility. (various references) | |
Esperanto | utilprogramo, utileca programo. (various references) | |
Farsi | کاربردپذیری . (various references) | |
Finnish | hyöty (advantage, benefit, profit, use), hyödyllisyys (profitability, use, usefulness), energianjakeluyhtiö, energialaitos. (various references) | |
French | utilitaire (utilitarian), utilité. (various references) | |
German | Dienstprogramm (service routine, utility program), Nutzen (account, advantage, avail, be of use, be useful, benefit, fruit, gain, good, make use of, profit, take advantage of, to deploy, use, usefulness, utilize, value), Nützlichkeit (advantage, beneficing, handiness, helpfulness, usefulness). (various references) | |
Greek | πρόγραμμα γενικής-κοινής χρήσης (service program, utility program), ωφέλιμη αξία, ωφέλεια (benefit, gain, profit), ωφελιμότησ, ωφελιμότητα (profitableness), χρησιμότησ (serviceableness, usableness, use, usefulness), χρησιμότητα (helpfulness, serviceableness, usableness, use, usefulness), αεροπλάνο γενικής χρήσης (utility aircraft), δημόσια υπηρεσία (civil service). (various references) | |
Hebrew | תועלתיות (expedience, expediency, usefulness), תועלת (advantage, avail, behalf, benefit, gain, good, profit, sake, use, usefulness, value), תשמיש (article, implement, service, use, utensil). (various references) | |
Hungarian | hasznosság (avail, expedience, expediency, subservience, subserviency, use, usefulness), használhatóság (applicability, aptitude, availability, efficiency, feasibility, fitness, practicability, serviceableness). (various references) | |
Indonesian | perkakas (gadget, tool), manfaat (benefit), keperluan (necessity, need, requisite), kefaedaan (usefulness), alat (appliance, device, instrument, means, organ, stuff, tool, utensil). (various references) | |
Italian | utilità (avail, benefit, helpfulness, use, usefulness, value), velivolo da utilizzo generico (utility aircraft), vantaggio (account, advantage, asset, avail, behoof, benefit, boon, convenience, forehand, gain, odds, perk, plus, profit, selling point, start, stead, usefulness, vantage, virtue), valore d'uso (value), servizio pubblico (public utility), programma di utilità (service program, utility program), profitto (account, advantage, benefit, gain, proceeds, profit, return, yield), impresa di pubblici servizi, azienda di pubblici servizi. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 功利 , 効用 (benefit, effect, use), ユーコン准州 (eugenics, eunos, euphemism, European television satellite, Eutelsat, euthanasia, euthanasie, humor, submarine, U-boat, UFO, ufology, unidentified flying object, usance, usance bill, used car, user, user interface, user-friendly, users, utility program, utility room, utopia, U-turn, youth, youth hostel, youth market, Yugoslavia, Yukon Territory), 実用 (practical use), 実利 (gain, profit, use). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ユーティリティー , ユーティリティ , こうり (axiom, high-interest rate, large profits, luggage, maxim, portmanteau, public official, retail, self-evident truth, wicker trunk), こうよう (autumn colours, benefit, dazzling brightness, descendant, discharge of filial duties, effect, elements, enhancement, essentials, exaltation, future generations, government business, great expanse of water, incoherent, maple, outline, posterity, promotion, public expense, public use, unfathomable, uplift, use, yellow leaves), じつり (gain, practical theory or principle, profit, use), じつよう (practical use). (various references) | |
Korean | 공용품. (various references) | |
Manx | ymmydoilid (usefulness), foays (benefit, betterment, goodness, improvement, quality, welfare, well-being), foaynoo (avail, availment, consequence, essence, fame, fettle, form, function, import, importance, order, reputation, state, value, worth). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ilityutay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | utilidade (advantage, avail, availability, benefit, good, subservience, use, value). (various references) | |
Romanian | utilitate (avail, availability, convenience, expedience, expediency, service, use, usefulness), serviciu public (public service), lucru folositor (commodity), folos (account, advantage, avail, behoof, benefit, boot, catch, efficaciousness, emolument, gain, profit, service, stead, use), caracter folositor, actor care joacã roluri minore. (various references) | |
Russian | утилитарность, утилита, бытовые помещения, полезность (availability, helpfulness, salutariness, subservience, usefulness). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | korist (avail, availability, behalf, benefit, boon, interest, prize, profit, sake, stead, value), korisnost (subservience, usefulness, wholesomeness). (various references) | |
Spanish | utilidad (avail, fruitfulness, goods, helpfulness, profitableness, purpose, purposefulness, service, serviceability, serviceableness, use, usefulness). (various references) | |
Swedish | nytta (advantage, avail, good, service, use, usefulness). (various references) | |
Turkish | yararlılık, yarar (account, advantage, avail, benefit, convenience, efficacy, gain, grist to the mill, stead, use), standart yapılan eşya ile ilgili, kamu hizmeti (public service, public utility), işe yarar şey, işe yarar (available, serviceable, useful), faydalı (advantageous, beneficial, benignant, favorable, favourable, helpful, of use, profitable, rewarding, salutary, serviceable, useful, utilitarian, valuable), fayda (advantage, avail, benefit, grist, handiness, profit, service, stead, use, usefulness). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | утилітарний (utilitarian), рентабельний (paying, profitable, workable), корисність (availability, profitability, profitableness, serviceableness, usefulness), корисна річ, допоміжний (accessary, accessorial, accessory, adjuvant, auxiliary, collateral, emergency, intermediate, ministerial, pilot, secondary, subsidiary), дешевий (cheap, jitney, nickel and dime, pinchbeck, sixpenny, twopenny). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tính có ích vật có ích, sự có ích. (various references) | |
Welsh | defnyddioldeb (usefulness). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | utilitas. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | nytt. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words ending with "utility": disutility, futility, inutility, nonutility. (additional references) | |
| |
"Utility" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: autolite, subtility, utilate. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "utility" (pronounced yuwti"lutē) |
| 8 | y uw t i" l u t ē | futility, nonutility. |
| 6 | -t i" l u t ē | ductility, fertility, gentility, hostility, infertility, motility, versatility, volatility. |
| 5 | -i" l u t ē | acceptability, accessibility, ability, adaptability, admissibility, advisability, affordability, agility, amiability, applicability, availability, believability, capability, civility, comparability, compatibility, comprehensibility, convertibility, credibility, culpability, debility, deductibility, deniability, dependability, desirability, disability, irresponsibility, irritability, docility, durability, electability, eligibility, enforceability, facility, fallibility, feasibility, flammability, flexibility, fragility, gullibility, humility, immobility, impossibility, inability, inaccessibility, incivility, incompatibility, indestructibility, inevitability, infallibility, inflexibility, instability, invincibility, invisibility, invulnerability, legibility, liability, malleability, maneuverability, marketability, miscibility, mobility, nobility, palatability, permeability, plausibility, portability, possibility, predictability, probability, profitability, readability, reliability, respectability, responsibility, senility, sensibility, stability, sterility, suitability, survivability, susceptibility, sustainability, tranquility, transferability, unavailability, unpredictability, unreliability, variability, viability, virility, visibility, vulnerability. |
| 4 | -l u t ē | abnormality, accountability, actuality, banality, bestiality, bisexuality, brutality, causality, centrality, collegiality, commonality, conditionality, confidentiality, congeniality, constitutionality, credulity, criminality, criticality, cyclicality, dimensionality, legality, duality, equality, eventuality, extraterritoriality, fatality, fidelity, finality, formality, frivolity, frugality, functionality, generality, geniality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, hospitality, illegality, immorality, immortality, impartiality, impersonality, incredulity, individuality, inequality, infidelity, informality, instrumentality, irrationality, lethality, liberality, locality, materiality, mentality, modality, morality, mortality, municipality, musicality, mutuality, nationality, neutrality, normality, originality, partiality, personality, plurality, polity, practicality, principality, proportionality, punctuality, quality, rationality, reality, seasonality, sensuality, sentimentality, sexuality, speciality, spirituality, technicality, theatricality, tonality, totality, triviality, universality, unreality, venality, vitality. |
| 3 | -u t ē | absurdity, acidity, activity, acuity, adversity, affinity, aggressivity, alacrity, alkalinity, ambiguity, amenity, amity, analyticity, animosity, annuity, anonymity, antiquity, anxiety, atrocity, audacity, austerity, authenticity, authority, barbarity, biodiversity, brevity, calamity, capacity, captivity, cavity, celebrity, charity, chastity, clarity, commodity, community, complexity, complicity, conductivity, conformity, congruity, connectivity, continuity, creativity, crotchety, curiosity, deformity, deity, density, depravity, deputy, dexterity, dignity, discontinuity, laity, laxity, disparity, dissimilarity, disunity, diversity, divinity, domesticity, duplicity, eccentricity, elasticity, electricity, enmity, enormity, entity, equanimity, equity, eternity, ethnicity, exclusivity, expressivity, extremity, falsity, familiarity, Felicity, femininity, ferocity, festivity, fluidity, fraternity, generosity, gratuity, gravity, heredity, heterogeneity, hilarity, homogeneity, humanity, humidity, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, identity, illiquidity, immaturity, immunity, impropriety, impunity, impurity, inactivity, incapacity, incongruity, indemnity, indignity, inequity, inferiority, infinity, infirmity, ingenuity, inhumanity, insanity, insecurity, insensitivity, insularity, integrity, intensity, irregularity, levity, liquidity, lividity, longevity, majority, masculinity, maternity, maturity, mediocrity, mendacity, minority, modernity, monstrosity, morbidity, multiplicity, nativity, necessity, negativity, Nonconformity, nonentity, notoriety, nudity, obesity, objectivity, obscenity, obscurity, oddity, opacity, opportunity, overcapacity, oversensitivity, parity, particularity, passivity, paternity, paucity, peculiarity, perpetuity, perplexity, perversity, piety, polarity, pomposity, popularity, posterity, priority, probity, proclivity, productivity, profanity, progressivity, promiscuity, propensity, propriety, prosperity, proximity, publicity, purity, quantity, radioactivity, rapidity, rarity, reactivity, receptivity, reciprocity, reflexivity, regularity, relativity, religiosity, retroactivity, rickety, rigidity, salinity, sanctity, sanity, scarcity, security, selectivity, seniority, sensitivity, serendipity, serenity, severity, similarity, simplicity, sincerity, sobriety, society, solemnity, solidarity, solidity, sorority, specificity, spontaneity, stupidity, subjectivity, superconductivity, superfluidity, superiority, supermajority, surety, temerity, tenacity, timidity, toxicity, Trinity, turbidity, ubiquity, unanimity, unfamiliarity, uniformity, unity, university, unpopularity, uppity, validity, vanity, variety, varsity, velocity, velvety, veracity, Verity, vicinity, virginity, virtuosity, viscosity, voracity, vulgarity. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "i-i-l-t-t-u-y" | |
-3 letters: litu, tilt, titi. | |
-4 letters: lit, til, tui, tut. | |
-5 letters: it, li, ti, ut. | |
| Words containing the letters "i-i-l-t-t-u-y" | |
+1 letter: futility. | |
+2 letters: ductility, inutility, multicity. | |
+3 letters: cutability, disutility, mutability, nonutility, nuptiality, tunability, virtuality. | |
+4 letters: intuitively, nutritively, quotability, spiritualty, stultifying, suitability, tranquility, unwittingly. | |
+5 letters: autistically, automobility, countability, equitability, factitiously, fictitiously, immutability, imputability, imputatively, meticulosity, multiformity, multiplicity, multiversity, nutritiously, reputability, simultaneity, spirituality, tranquillity, trustability, unstintingly, untenability. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Company Usage 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Translations: Ancient 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
