n. a particular service; "he put his knowledge to good use"; "patrons have their uses"

n. the option to sell a given stock (or stock index or commodity future) at a given price before a given date

n. exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage; "his manipulation of his friends was scandalous"

n. 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"

n. what something is used for; "the function of an auger is to bore holes"; "ballet is beautiful but what use is it?"

n. (economics) the utilization of economic goods to satisfy needs or in manufacturing; "the consumption of energy has increased steadily"

n. the act of using; "he warned against the use of narcotic drugs"; "skilled in the utilization of computers"

v. cause to be in a certain state; cause to be in a certain relation; "That song put me in awful good humor"

v. to hit a golf ball on the putting surface with a putter

v. attribute or give; "She put too much emphasis on her the last statement"; "He put all his efforts into this job"; "The teacher put an interesting twist to the interpretation of the story"

v. use up, consume fully; "The legislature expended its time on school questions"

v. 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"

v. arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events; "arrange my schedule"; "set up one's life"; "I put these memories with those of bygone times"

v. make an investment; "Put money into bonds"

v. take or consume (regularly or habitually); "She uses drugs rarely"

v. handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe"

v. formulate in a particular style or language; "I wouldn't put it that way"; "She cast her request in very polite language"

v. put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"

v. 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 use 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"

n. a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it"

n. an outstanding characteristic; "his acting was one of the high points of the movie"

n. (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"

n. a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces); "hazardous duty"

n. preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home)

n. a task assigned for individual study; "he did the lesson for today"

n. the act of having on your person as a covering or adornment; "she bought it for everyday wear"

v. spend frivolously and unwisely; "Fritter away one's inheritance"

v. deplete of resources; "The exercise class drains me of energy"

v. make a victim of; "I was victimized by this con-man"

v. take or catch as if in a snare or trap; "I was set up!"; "The innocent man was framed by the police"

v. deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change"

v. bring order and organization to; "Can you help me organize my files?"

v. arrange or order by classes or categories; "How would you classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?"

v. provide; "The city has to put up half the required amount"

v. give to a charity or good cause; "I donated blood to the Red Cross for the victims of the earthquake"; "donate money to the orphanage"; "She donates to her favorite charity every month"

v. take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment"; "The police confiscated the stolen artwork"

v. give out or allot; "We were assigned new uniforms"

v. cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution; "After the second episode, she had to be committed"; "he was committed to prison"

v. administer or bestow, as in small portions; "administer critical remarks to everyone present"; "dole out some money"; "shell out pocket money for the children"; "deal a blow to someone"

v. obtain or provide money for; "Can we finance the addition to our home?"

v. convert (short-term floating debt) into long-term debt that bears fixed interest and is represented by bonds

v. transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody; "I gave her my money"; "can you give me lessons?"; "She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care"

v. give over; surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another

v. present for acceptance or rejection; "She offered us all a cold drink"

v. hand over formally

v. furnish money for; "The government funds basic research in many areas"

v. throw or toss with a light motion; "flip me the beachball"; "toss me newspaper"

v. throw or cast away; "Put away your worries"

v. get rid of; "he shed his image as a pushy boss"; "shed your clothes"

v. throw forcefully

v. put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light"

v. give expression to; "She showed her disappointment"

v. indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.; "Can you express this distance in kilometers?"

v. put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light"

v. come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort; "excogitate a way to measure the speed of light"

v. arrange according to a system or reduce to a system; "systematize our scientific knowledge"

v. lift or elevate

v. move or cause to move in a specified way, direction, or position; "The vessel hove into sight"

v. engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?"

v. get on the back of; "mount a horse"

v. fake or falsify; "Fudge the figures"; "cook the books"; "falsify the data"

v. ask (someone) to marry you; "he popped the question on Sunday night"; "she proposed marriage to the man she had known for only two months"; "The old bachelor finally declared himself to the young woman"

v. refer for judgment or consideration; "She submitted a proposal to the agency"

v. hand over formally

v. make a proposal, declare a plan for something

v. present for acceptance or rejection; "She offered us all a cold drink"

v. perform (a play), especially on a stage; "we are going to stage `Othello'"

v. plan for an activity or event; "I've scheduled a concert next week"

v. 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 use 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"

v. put into commission; equip for service; of ships

v. enter into a contractual arrangement

v. hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support"

v. hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services

v. 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 use 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"

v. keep engaged; "engaged the gears"

v. register formally as a participant or member; "The party recruited many new members"

v. work excessively hard; "he is exploiting the students"

v. take advantage of or capitalize on

v. make the most of; "He maximized his role"

v. put into commission; equip for service; of ships

v. enter into a contractual arrangement

v. hire for work or assistance; "engage aid, help, services, or support"

v. hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services

v. assign to a station

v. put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"

v. cause to feel embarrassment; "The constant attention of the young man confused her"

v. reduce in worth or character, usually verbally; "She tends to put down younger women colleagues"; "His critics took him down after the lecture"

v. take away the enthusiasm of

v. deprive of the oxygen necessary for combustion; "smother fires"

v. connect by telephone; "the operator put a call through to Rio"

v. preserve in a can or tin; "tinned foods are not very tasty"

v. follow through with

v. put out, as of fires, flames, or lights; "Too big to be extinguished at once, the forest fires at best could be contained"; "quench the flames"; "snuff out the candles"

v. set at

v. lay on

v. leave or unload, especially of passengers or cargo;

v. arrange the outcome of by means of deceit; "rig an election"

v. take or catch as if in a snare or trap; "I was set up!"; "The innocent man was framed by the police"

v. go ashore; "The passengers disembarked at Southampton"

v. create by putting components or members together; "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee"

v. construct, build, or erect; "Raise a barn"

v. cause to come to the ground; "the pilot managed to land the airplane safely"

v. lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; "The suspects were imprisoned without trial"; "the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life"

v. put together out of existing material; "compile a list"

v. apply to a surface; "She applied paint to the back of the house"; "Put on make-up!"

v. put up; "post a sign"; "post a warning at the dump"

v. to join or unite the pieces of; "patch the skirt"

v. transmit information ; "Please communicate this message to all employees"; "pass along the good news"

n. the option to buy a given stock (or stock index or commodity future) at a given price before a given date

v. use cautiously and frugally; "I try to economize my spare time"; "conserve your energy for the ascent to the summit"

v. reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment); "The company decided to divest"; "the board of trustees divested $20 million in real estate property"; "There was pressure on the university to disinvest in South Africa"

v. remove (a commodity) from (a supply source); "She drew $2,000 from the account"; "The doctors drew medical supplies from the hospital's emergency bank"

v. destroy the arrangement or order of; "My son disarranged the papers on my desk"

v. keep away from others; "He sequestered himself in his study to write a book"

v. take and lift upward

v. give a passenger or a hitchhiker a lift; "We picked up a hitchhiker on the highway"