Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

public utility

noun

Definition of public utility

  1. :  a business organization (such as an electric company) performing a public service and subject to special governmental regulation

See public utility defined for English-language learners

See public utility defined for kids

Explore M-W

alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength
alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
image599301899
Pretty in 'Pink'
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

1895

First Known Use of public utility

1895

PUBLIC UTILITY Defined for English Language Learners

public utility

noun

Definition of public utility for English Language Learners

  • : a company (such as an electric company) that provides a public service and must follow special rules made by the government

Law Dictionary

public utility

noun

Legal Definition of public utility

  1. :  a business organization (as an electric company) performing a public service and subject to special government regulation

Learn More about public utility

  1. See words that rhyme with public utility Nglish: Translation of public utility for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about public utility

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up public utility? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

volplane

play

to glide in or as if in an airplane

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

public utility

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Do you take pride in Pride?

image599301899
Pink: The Color that Will Change Your Life

From Fuchsia to Baker-Miller Pink

image2144101468
That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game