utilize
/ˈju.tə.laɪz/verb
utilize is spelled U-T-I-L-I-Z-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, utilize means “US, Canada, and Oxford British English standard spelling of utilise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in utilize?
| Letters | 7: U-T-I-L-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is utilize?
Utilize appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce utilize?
- UK /ˈjuː.tɪ.laɪz/
- US /ˈju.tə.laɪz/
- US [ˈju.ɾə.laɪz]
Utilize has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-utilize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with utilize?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as utilize from its last stressed vowel (/utəlaɪz/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of utilize
- utilizes present, singular, he/she/it
- utilizing participle, present
- utilized participle, past
- utilise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does utilize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
US, Canada, and Oxford British English standard spelling of utilise.
The scientists utilized advanced technology in their research.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does utilize come from?
From French utiliser, from Italian utilizzare, from utile (“useful”), from Latin ūtilis, from ūtī (“use”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).