Utilizing

How to spell utilizing

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce utilizing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does utilizing mean?

1. verbMaking practical or effective use of something, especially a resource, tool, or skill.

Utilizing in a sentence

• The new factory cut waste by utilizing every offcut of timber.

• She finished the report early by utilizing a template her colleague had shared.

Where does utilizing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective utilis, meaning 'useful' or 'serviceable', which itself grew from the verb uti, 'to use'. French turned this into utiliser, 'to make use of', and English borrowed the family during the late 1700s and early 1800s, building the verb 'utilize' on the same root. The ending was shaped by the Greek-derived suffix -ize, which forms verbs meaning 'to make into' or 'to treat as', and the present participle adds -ing. The very same uti root sits quietly inside the everyday words 'use', 'usual', and 'utility', which can help anchor the spelling. The trap for writers is the unstressed middle vowel: it is spelt with an 'i' (util-) even though the ear hears only a faint schwa, and the 'z' must survive into the participle.

How the word is built

• util- (from Latin utilis: useful)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix: to make or treat as)
• -ing (present participle)

British and American spelling

Utilizing is the American spelling. British English spells it utilising.