Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Use \Use\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Used}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Using}.]
   [OE. usen, F. user to use, use up, wear out, LL. usare to
   use, from L. uti, p. p. usus, to use, OL. oeti, oesus; of
   uncertain origin. Cf. {Utility}.]
   1. To make use of; to convert to one's service; to avail
      one's self of; to employ; to put a purpose; as, to use a
      plow; to use a chair; to use time; to use flour for food;
      to use water for irrigation.

            Launcelot Gobbo, use your legs.       --Shak.

            Some other means I have which may be used. --Milton.

   2. To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat; as, to
      use a beast cruelly. ``I will use him well.'' --Shak.

            How wouldst thou use me now?          --Milton.

            Cato has used me ill.                 --Addison.

   3. To practice customarily; to make a practice of; as, to use
      diligence in business.

            Use hospitality one to another.       --1 Pet. iv.
                                                  9.

   4. To accustom; to habituate; to render familiar by practice;
      to inure; -- employed chiefly in the passive participle;
      as, men used to cold and hunger; soldiers used to
      hardships and danger.

            I am so used in the fire to blow.     --Chaucer.

            Thou with thy compeers, Used to the yoke, draw'st
            his triumphant wheels.                --Milton.

   {To use one's self}, to behave. [Obs.] ``Pray, forgive me, if
      I have used myself unmannerly.'' --Shak.

   {To use up}.
      (a) To consume or exhaust by using; to leave nothing of;
          as, to use up the supplies.
      (b) To exhaust; to tire out; to leave no capacity of force
          or use in; to overthrow; as, he was used up by
          fatigue. [Colloq.]

   Syn: Employ.

   Usage: {Use}, {Employ}. We use a thing, or make use of it,
          when we derive from it some enjoyment or service. We
          employ it when we turn that service into a particular
          channel. We use words to express our general meaning;
          we employ certain technical terms in reference to a
          given subject. To make use of, implies passivity in
          the thing; as, to make use of a pen; and hence there
          is often a material difference between the two words
          when applied to persons. To speak of ``making use of
          another'' generally implies a degrading idea, as if we
          had used him as a tool; while employ has no such
          sense. A confidential friend is employed to negotiate;
          an inferior agent is made use of on an intrigue.

                I would, my son, that thou wouldst use the power
                Which thy discretion gives thee, to control And
                manage all.                       --Cowper.

                To study nature will thy time employ: Knowledge
                and innocence are perfect joy.    --Dryden.