Uses vs. Use — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 6, 2023
"Uses" is the plural noun or third person singular present tense of "use," while "use" can be a noun or base form of the verb indicating the act of employing something.
Difference Between Uses and Use
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Uses" typically refers to the multiple purposes or functions that something can have. The word can serve as a plural noun, representing different applications of an item. "Use" describes the act of employing an object or the function it is employed for, and it can be both a noun and a verb. When one discusses "uses," they refer to the various instances or ways in which something might be utilized, while "use" can pertain to the general concept of utilization.
In grammatical terms, "uses" may function as the third person singular present tense of the verb "to use" or as the plural form of the noun denoting various applications. "Use," on the other hand, can be the base form of the verb or a singular noun. When someone "uses" an item, they are in the act of "use." "Uses" encapsulates multiple instances of "use."
The diversity of "uses" can relate to anything from tools to abstract concepts, suggesting a range of possibilities. In contrast, "use" often focuses on a singular application or the process of utilizing. If one mentions the "uses" of a smartphone, they imply its multiple functions, whereas a discussion on the "use" of a smartphone may only focus on a specific function or the general action of operating the phone.
When explaining "uses," one might illustrate the varied "uses" of a Swiss Army knife, for example, cutting, screwing, and opening bottles. Alternatively, the "use" of the Swiss Army knife in a specific situation, like cutting a rope, demonstrates "use" in action. "Uses" conveys multiplicity, while "use" conveys a singular or general application.
Understanding the distinction between "uses" and "use" is crucial in both written and spoken English. "Uses" is often associated with lists or discussions of multiple functions, and "use" is employed when referring to the general act of using something or a specific instance of it being used. "Uses" might catalog the benefits or functions of an item, while "use" could reflect its necessity or the manner in which it is employed.
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Comparison Chart
Part of Speech
Noun (plural), Verb (3rd person singular present)
Noun (singular), Base Verb
Function
Refers to multiple functions or applications
Refers to the act of employing something or its function
Example as a Noun
The many uses of a product are listed on the package.
The use of plastic has become controversial.
Example as a Verb
She uses the computer for work.
I use this tool to open jars.
Grammatical Context
Plural form when noun, indicates repetitive action when verb
Singular form when noun, general action when verb
Compare with Definitions
Uses
Various functions or applications.
The numerous uses of baking soda include cleaning and baking.
Use
A pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition;
She had a habit twirling the ends of her hair
Long use had hardened him to it
Uses
The plural form of the noun 'use' denoting multiple applications.
The uses of smartphones go beyond communication to include navigation and photography.
Use
The way in which something is employed.
His use of the language is quite poetic.
Uses
Third person singular present of the verb 'to use.'
He uses his expertise to solve complex problems.
Use
The purpose for which something exists.
The main use of a hammer is to drive nails.
Uses
To put into service or employ for a purpose
I used a whisk to beat the eggs. The song uses only three chords.
Use
To consume or expend; practical utilization.
I use less water to help the environment.
Uses
Different scenarios where a particular tool or skill is employed.
The uses of solar energy range from powering homes to charging gadgets.
Use
Take, hold, or deploy (something) as a means of accomplishing or achieving something; employ
She used her key to open the front door
The poem uses simple language
Uses
To avail oneself of; practice
Use caution.
Use
Take or consume (an amount) from a limited supply
We have used all the available funds
Uses
To conduct oneself toward; treat or handle
"the peace offering of a man who once used you unkindly" (Laurence Sterne).
Use
Describing an action or situation that was done repeatedly or existed for a period in the past
This road used to be a dirt track
I used to give him lifts home
Uses
To seek or achieve an end by means of; exploit
Used their highly placed friends to gain access to the president.
Felt he was being used by seekers of favor.
Use
Be or become familiar with (someone or something) through experience
She was used to getting what she wanted
He's weird, but you just have to get used to him
Uses
To take or consume for a purpose
She used her savings to buy a computer.
Use
One would like or benefit from
I could use another cup of coffee
Uses
To partake of, especially as a habit
She rarely uses alcohol.
Use
The action of using something or the state of being used for a purpose
Hyper-modern trains are now in use
The software is ideal for use in schools
Theatre owners were charging too much for the use of their venues
Uses
(ys, yst) Used in the past tense followed by to in order to indicate a former state, habitual practice, or custom
Mail service used to be faster.
Use
The value or advantage of something
It was no use trying to persuade her
What's the use of crying?
Uses
(Slang) To take an illegal or narcotic drug, especially as a habit.
Use
The habitual consumption of a drug
Burgling and dealing financed their heroin use
Uses
The act of using something; the application or employment of something for a purpose
With the use of a calculator.
Skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.
Use
The characteristic ritual and liturgy of a Christian Church or diocese.
Uses
The condition or fact of being used
A chair in regular use.
Use
To put into service or employ for a purpose
I used a whisk to beat the eggs. The song uses only three chords.
Uses
The manner of using; usage
Learned the proper use of power tools.
Use
To avail oneself of; practice
Use caution.
Uses
The permission, privilege, or benefit of using something
Gave us the use of their summerhouse.
Use
To conduct oneself toward; treat or handle
"the peace offering of a man who once used you unkindly" (Laurence Sterne).
Uses
The power or ability to use something
Lost the use of one arm.
Use
To seek or achieve an end by means of; exploit
Used their highly placed friends to gain access to the president.
Felt he was being used by seekers of favor.
Uses
The need or occasion to use or employ something
I have no use for these old clothes.
Use
To take or consume for a purpose
She used her savings to buy a computer.
Uses
The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end; usefulness
I tried to be of use in the kitchen.
Use
To partake of, especially as a habit
She rarely uses alcohol.
Uses
A purpose for which something is used
A tool with several uses.
A pretty bowl, but of what use is it?.
Use
(ys, yst) Used in the past tense followed by to in order to indicate a former state, habitual practice, or custom
Mail service used to be faster.
Uses
Gain or advantage; good
There's no use in discussing it. What's the use?.
Use
(Slang) To take an illegal or narcotic drug, especially as a habit.
Uses
Accustomed or usual procedure or practice
"We are but creatures of use and custom" (Mark Twain).
Use
The act of using something; the application or employment of something for a purpose
With the use of a calculator.
Skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.
Uses
A particular custom or practice
Uses introduced by recent immigrants.
Use
The condition or fact of being used
A chair in regular use.
Uses
Enjoyment of property, as by occupying or employing it.
Use
The manner of using; usage
Learned the proper use of power tools.
Uses
The benefit or profit of lands and tenements of which the legal title is vested in another.
Use
The permission, privilege, or benefit of using something
Gave us the use of their summerhouse.
Uses
The arrangement establishing the equitable right to such benefits and profits.
Use
The power or ability to use something
Lost the use of one arm.
Uses
A liturgical form practiced in a particular church, ecclesiastical district, or community.
Use
The need or occasion to use or employ something
I have no use for these old clothes.
Uses
Plural of use
Use
The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end; usefulness
I tried to be of use in the kitchen.
Uses
(legal) A form of equitable ownership peculiar to English law, by which one person enjoys the profits of lands, etc. whose legal title is vested in another in trust.
Use
A purpose for which something is used
A tool with several uses.
A pretty bowl, but of what use is it?.
Uses
Instances or manners in which something is utilized.
One of the common uses of vinegar is as a natural disinfectant.
Use
Gain or advantage; good
There's no use in discussing it. What's the use?.
Use
Accustomed or usual procedure or practice
"We are but creatures of use and custom" (Mark Twain).
Use
A particular custom or practice
Uses introduced by recent immigrants.
Use
Enjoyment of property, as by occupying or employing it.
Use
The benefit or profit of lands and tenements of which the legal title is vested in another.
Use
The arrangement establishing the equitable right to such benefits and profits.
Use
A liturgical form practiced in a particular church, ecclesiastical district, or community.
Use
The act of using.
The use of torture has been condemned by the United Nations.
Use
(uncountable) The act of consuming alcohol or narcotics.
Use
Usefulness, benefit.
What's the use of a law that nobody follows?
Use
A function; a purpose for which something may be employed.
This tool has many uses.
Use
Occasion or need to employ; necessity.
I have no further use for these textbooks.
Use
Interest for lent money; premium paid for the use of something; usury.
Use
(archaic) Continued or repeated practice; usage; habit.
Use
(obsolete) Common occurrence; ordinary experience.
Use
(Christianity) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese.
The Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.
Use
(forging) A slab of iron welded to the side of a forging, such as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.
Use
To utilize or employ.
Use
(transitive) To employ; to apply; to utilize.
Use this knife to slice the bread.
We can use this mathematical formula to solve the problem.
Use
To expend; to consume by employing.
I used the money they allotted me.
We should use up most of the fuel.
She used all the time allotted to complete the test.
Use
(transitive) To exploit.
You never cared about me; you just used me!
Use
(transitive) To consume (alcohol, drugs, etc), especially regularly.
He uses cocaine. I have never used drugs.
Use
(intransitive) To consume a previously specified substance, especially a drug to which one is addicted.
Richard began experimenting with cocaine last year; now he uses almost every day.
Use
To benefit from; to be able to employ or stand.
I could use a drink. My car could use a new coat of paint.
Use
To accustom; to habituate. Now common only in participial form. Uses the same pronunciation as the noun; see usage notes.
Use
To become accustomed, to accustom oneself.
Use
To suggest, request, demand or expect that other people use a specific set of gender pronouns when referring to the subject.
I use they/them pronouns.
Use
To habitually do; to be wont to do. (Now chiefly in past-tense forms; see used to.)
I used to get things done.
Use
(dated) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat.
To use an animal cruelly
Use
To behave, act, comport oneself.
Use
The act of employing anything, or of applying it to one's service; the state of being so employed or applied; application; employment; conversion to some purpose; as, the use of a pen in writing; his machines are in general use.
Books can never teach the use of books.
This Davy serves you for good uses.
When he framedAll things to man's delightful use.
Use
Occasion or need to employ; necessity; as, to have no further use for a book.
Use
Yielding of service; advantage derived; capability of being used; usefulness; utility.
God made two great lights, great for their useTo man.
'T is use alone that sanctifies expense.
Use
Continued or repeated practice; customary employment; usage; custom; manner; habit.
Let later age that noble use envy.
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Use
Common occurrence; ordinary experience.
O Cæsar! these things are beyond all use.
Use
The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese; as, the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc.
From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but one use.
Use
The premium paid for the possession and employment of borrowed money; interest; usury.
Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use and principal, to him.
Use
The benefit or profit of lands and tenements. Use imports a trust and confidence reposed in a man for the holding of lands. He to whose use or benefit the trust is intended shall enjoy the profits. An estate is granted and limited to A for the use of B.
Use
A stab of iron welded to the side of a forging, as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.
Use
To make use of; to convert to one's service; to avail one's self of; to employ; to put a purpose; as, to use a plow; to use a chair; to use time; to use flour for food; to use water for irrigation.
Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs.
Some other means I have which may be used.
Use
To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to use a beast cruelly.
How wouldst thou use me now?
Cato has used me ill.
Use
To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use diligence in business.
Use hospitality one to another.
Use
To accustom; to habituate; to render familiar by practice; to inure; - employed chiefly in the passive participle; as, men used to cold and hunger; soldiers used to hardships and danger.
I am so used in the fire to blow.
Thou with thy compeers,Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels.
I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the powerWhich thy discretion gives thee, to controlAnd manage all.
To study nature will thy time employ:Knowledge and innocence are perfect joy.
Use
To be wont or accustomed; to be in the habit or practice; as, he used to ride daily; - now disused in the present tense, perhaps because of the similarity in sound, between "use to," and "used to."
They use to place him that shall be their captain on a stone.
Fears use to be represented in an imaginary.
Thus we use to say, it is the room that smokes, when indeed it is the fire in the room.
Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp.
Use
To be accustomed to go; to frequent; to inhabit; to dwell; - sometimes followed by of.
He useth every day to a merchant's house.
Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers useOf shades, and wanton winds, and gushing brooks.
Use
The act of using;
He warned against the use of narcotic drugs
Skilled in the utilization of computers
Use
A particular service;
He put his knowledge to good use
Patrons have their uses
Use
What something is used for;
The function of an auger is to bore holes
Ballet is beautiful but what use is it?
Use
(economics) the utilization of economic goods to satisfy needs or in manufacturing;
The consumption of energy has increased steadily
Use
(law) the exercise of the legal right to enjoy the benefits of owning property;
We were given the use of his boat
Use
Exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage;
His manipulation of his friends was scandalous
Use
Put into service; make work or employ (something) for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose;
Use your head!
We only use Spanish at home
I can't make use of this tool
Apply a magnetic field here
This thinking was applied to many projects
How do you utilize this tool?
I apply this rule to get good results
Use the plastic bags to store the food
He doesn't know how to use a computer
Use
Take or consume (regularly or habitually);
She uses drugs rarely
Use
Seek or achieve an end by using to one's advantage;
She uses her influential friends to get jobs
The president's wife used her good connections
Use
Use up, consume fully;
The legislature expended its time on school questions
Use
Avail oneself to;
Apply a principle
Practice a religion
Use care when going down the stairs
Use your common sense
Practice non-violent resistance
Use
Habitually do something (use only in the past tense);
She used to call her mother every week but now she calls only occasionally
I used to get sick when I ate in that dining hall
They used to vacation in the Bahamas
Use
The act of employing something for a purpose.
The use of seat belts saves lives.
Use
A particular service or advantage gained from something.
There’s no use for such a device in our office.
Common Curiosities
Can "uses" be used as a verb?
Yes, "uses" is the third person singular present tense of the verb "use."
How do I know when to use "uses" or "use"?
"Uses" is for multiple applications (noun) or third person singular (verb). "Use" is for singular application (noun) or general action (verb).
Can "use" be both a noun and a verb?
Yes, "use" can function as both.
What is the plural form of "use" when it is a noun?
The plural form is "uses."
Do "uses" and "use" have the same pronunciation?
No, "uses" is pronounced with a 'z' sound, while "use" has an 's' sound when a noun and a 'z' sound when a verb.
Is "use" countable or uncountable as a noun?
It's usually uncountable.
Is "use" ever used in the plural form?
No, "use" as a noun is uncountable and does not have a plural form.
Can you give me an example of "uses" as a verb?
She uses her phone to take notes.
Can you give me an example of "use" as a verb?
I use a planner to organize my day.
What is an example of "uses" as a noun?
The tool has several uses, such as cutting and grinding.
How can "uses" change in different tenses as a verb?
As a verb, "uses" is present tense; the past tense is "used."
Can "use" be an infinitive verb?
Yes, "to use" is the infinitive form.
What is an example of "use" as a noun?
His use of natural light in photography is innovative.
Can "uses" be singular?
No, as a noun it is always plural; as a verb, it’s singular third person.
What does "to no use" mean?
It means it’s ineffective or serves no purpose.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
