utility

Adjective

• capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team
  • a utility infielder
    

• used of beef; usable but inferior

Noun

• 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
    

• (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
    

• (economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice

• the service (electric power or water or transportation) provided by a public utility
  • the cost of utilities never decreases
    
  • all the utilities were lost after the hurricane
    

• the quality of being of practical use

• a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  utility(a) , substitute(a) , utility-grade , utility program , service program , usefulness , public utility , public utility company , public-service corporation
• Antonyms: 
  inutility , uselessness , unusefulness