utility
noun OPAL W
/juːˈtɪləti/
/juːˈtɪləti/
(plural utilities)
- [countable] a service provided for the public, for example an electricity, water or gas supply
- a privatized electricity utility
- Rescue teams worked desperately to restore utilities in the area shattered by the hurricane.
- Legislation will be introduced to regulate the privatized utilities.
Collocations Moving houseMoving house Rentingsee also public utilityTopics Moneyc1- live in a rented/(especially North American English) rental property
- rent/share/move into a furnished house/(British English) flat/(especially North American English) apartment
- rent a studio/(British English) a studio flat/(especially North American English) a studio apartment/(British English) a bedsit
- find/get a housemate/(British English) a flatmate/(North American English) a roommate
- sign/break the lease/rental agreement/contract
- extend/renew/terminate the lease/(British English) tenancy
- afford/pay the rent/the bills/(North American English) the utilities
- (especially British English) fall behind with/ (especially North American English) fall behind on the rent
- pay/lose/return a damage deposit/(North American English) security deposit
- give/receive a month’s/two-weeks’ notice to leave/vacate the property
- have a flat/an apartment/a room (British English) to let/(especially North American English) for rent
- rent (out)/lease (out)/ (British English) let (out)/sublet a flat/an apartment/a house/a property
- collect/increase/raise the rent
- evict the existing tenants
- attract/find new/prospective tenants
- invest in rental property/(British English) property to let/(British English) the buy-to-let market
- buy/acquire/purchase a house/(a) property/(especially North American English) (a piece of) prime real estate
- call/contact/use (British English) an estate agent/(North American English) a Realtor™/(North American English) a real estate agent/broker
- make/ (British English) put in an offer on a house
- put down/save for (British English) a deposit on a house
- make/put/save for (especially North American English) a down payment on a house/home
- apply for/arrange/take out a mortgage/home loan
- (struggle to) pay the mortgage
- make/meet/keep up/cover the monthly mortgage payments/(British English also) repayments
- (British English) repossess/ (especially North American English) foreclose on somebody’s home/house
- put your house/property on the market/up for sale/up for auction
- increase/lower your price/the asking price
- have/hold/hand over the deed/(especially British English) deeds of/to the house, land, etc.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- municipal
- public
- state-owned
- …
- company
- bill
- commission
- …
- [uncountable] (formal) the quality of being useful synonym usefulness
- This information is of the highest utility to a historian.
Extra Examples- He argued that the arts have great social utility.
- This computer is of low utility for the home user.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- great
- high
- limited
- …
- have
- maximize
- enhance
- …
- of… utility
- [countable] (computing) a piece of computer software that performs a particular taskTopics Computersc2
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French utilite, from Latin utilitas, from utilis ‘useful’.