noun
utility
An essential public service or the company supplying it.
The utility supplies electricity to the surrounding towns.
Etymology
The useful-service sense specialized to essential public infrastructure. Utility then came to name both a service and the organization supplying it.
In context
in Scottish water we benefit from a world-class utility providing water and sewage services delivered through a public ownership model
More examples
- Several utilities repaired their networks.
- She called the water utility.
- The building's utilities were disconnected.
Forms
utility · utilities
Similar words
- service
- Can be nonessential or supplied privately without public infrastructure.
- provider
- The supplier rather than the essential service itself.