utility

1. (economics) The ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants; the satisfaction experienced by the consumer of that commodity.countableuncountable

2. (philosophy) Well-being, satisfaction, pleasure, or happiness.countableuncountable

3. (business) A commodity or service provided on a continuous basis by a physical infrastructure network, such as electricity, water supply or sewerage.Examples: "Elsewhere, utility diversion works are still scheduled to continue, with work to move a gas main on Drummond Street set to begin in early 2025."; "The 'slab track' system negates the need to divert utilities such as gas pipes and telecoms cables by only digging down to a depth of 30cm."Synonyms: servicecountableuncountable

4. (business, finance, by extension) A natural or legal monopoly distributer of such a utility; or, the securities of such a provider.broadlycountableuncountable

5. (computing) A software program other than a game; one that is useful or creative rather than merely entertaining.Examples: "a graphics utility; a music utility"countableuncountable

6. (computing) A software program designed to perform a single task or a small range of tasks, often to help manage and tune computer hardware, an operating system, or application software.Examples: "Holonyms: app, application, program"; "I've bought a new disk utility that can recover deleted files."; "The system includes an 8080 and a Z80 assembler, a Tektronix format downloader and other utilities."countableuncountable