- the act or a manner of using; use; employment
- constant use, custom, or habit
- something permitted or established by custom or practice
- what is actually said in a language, esp as contrasted with what is prescribed
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
us•age /ˈyusɪdʒ, -zɪdʒ/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [uncountable] a customary way of doing something;
a custom or practice. - [uncountable] the customary manner in which a language or a form of a language is spoken or written.
- a particular instance of this:[countable]a usage borrowed from French.
us•age
(yo̅o̅′sij, -zij),USA pronunciation n.
- a customary way of doing something;
a custom or practice:the usages of the last 50 years. - the customary manner in which a language or a form of a language is spoken or written:English usage; a grammar based on usage rather than on arbitrary notions of correctness.
- a particular instance of this:a usage borrowed from French.
- any manner of doing or handling something;
treatment:rough usage. - habitual or customary use;
long-continued practice:immemorial usage. - an act of using or employing;
use.
- Medieval Latin ūsāticum, equivalent. to Latin ūs(us) (see use) + -āticum -age
- Anglo-French, Old French
- Middle English 1250–1300
- 1. tradition, habit, convention.
- The nouns usage and use are related in origin and meaning and to some extent overlap in their use. Usage usually refers to habitual or customary practices or procedures:Some usages of the Anglican Church are similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church.It is also commonly used in reference to language practices:English usage is divided in the pronunciation ofaunt. Use refers to the act of using or employing (something):She put her extra money to good use.Perhaps in the belief that it is the more impressive term, usage is sometimes used where use would be more natural:Has your usage of a personal computer made the work any easier?
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
usage /ˈjuːsɪdʒ; -zɪdʒ/ n
'usage' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
absolute pitch
- AD
- Americanism
- amyl
- amyl acetate
- an
- bar sinister
- bi-
- Briticism
- busby
- Canadianism
- chromium dioxide
- coinage
- collective noun
- consuetude
- convention
- conventional
- crib
- cromlech
- custom
- customary
- dharma
- diapason
- different
- economy-class syndrome
- either
- extremely
- Fowler
- free space
- glycerine
- glycol
- grain
- hard
- he
- Hebraism
- homeboy
- hydrate
- idiom
- ignoramus
- ill-use
- illumination
- Indian
- -ism
- K
- kerosene
- kilo-
- lapse
- latent heat
- legitimate
- light