useful

[yoos-fuhl]

adjective

1. being of use or service; serving some purpose; advantageous, helpful, or of good effect.

   a useful member of society.

   Synonyms: beneficial, efficacious, profitable
   Antonyms: useless

2. of practical use, as for doing work; producing material results; supplying common needs.

   the useful arts; useful work.

   Synonyms: beneficial, efficacious, profitable
   Antonyms: useless

useful

/ ˈjuːsfʊl /

adjective

1. able to be used advantageously, beneficially, or for several purposes; helpful or serviceable

2. informal,  commendable or capable

   a useful term's work

noun

1. informal,  an odd-jobman or general factotum

Other Word Forms

• usefully adverb
• usefulness noun
• unuseful adjective
• unusefully adverb
• unusefulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of useful¹

First recorded in 1585–95; use + -ful

Example Sentences

But as many African languages are mostly spoken rather than written down, there is a lack of text to train AI on to make it useful for speakers of those languages.

From BBC

My final piece of advice relates to dashcams, which are incredibly useful.

From BBC

She may well find the message useful in managing her own internal scrappy politics.

From BBC

Matt said these were hugely useful to him.

From BBC

The dogs are particularly useful for inspecting large timber stacks which can be difficult to inspect visually.

From BBC

Related Words

• advantageous 
• appropriate 
• convenient 
• effective 
• favorable 
• fruitful 
• good 
• handy 
• helpful 
• practical 
• pragmatic 
• profitable 
• proper 
• suitable