Use v. t. [imp. & p. p. Used p. pr. & vb. n. Using.]
 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.”
    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.