1
: capable of being put to use
especially
: serviceable for an end or purpose
useful tools
2
: of a valuable or productive kind
do something useful with your life
Examples of useful in a Sentence
Does anyone have any useful suggestions?
It can be useful to know CPR.
The Internet is useful for finding information quickly.
She has become one of the team's most useful players.
Why don't you do something useful with your life?
Recent Examples on the Web
Nate Williams, Rockets (NG) Williams has a $2.2 million deal for the coming season that doesn’t guarantee until opening night, which means the Rockets are likely to drag this out all summer and see if his contract is useful for aggregation in a salary match.
—
John Hollinger, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Additionally, tax-loss harvesting, or selling investments that have lost value to offset gains, can be a useful strategy to reduce your taxable income.
—Prasanna Kumar, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Systems like Israel’s Iron Dome have proven useful against short-range, conventional rockets.
—Time, 18 June 2025
All other activity, from running a business to producing unnecessary luxuries (including, notably, literature), were thus unethical, even parasitical, to the extent that one’s time ought to be spent in useful production, especially agriculture.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for useful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
John Hollinger, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Additionally, tax-loss harvesting, or selling investments that have lost value to offset gains, can be a useful strategy to reduce your taxable income.
—Prasanna Kumar, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Systems like Israel’s Iron Dome have proven useful against short-range, conventional rockets.
—Time, 18 June 2025
All other activity, from running a business to producing unnecessary luxuries (including, notably, literature), were thus unethical, even parasitical, to the extent that one’s time ought to be spent in useful production, especially agriculture.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for useful
Cite this Entry
“Useful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/useful. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share