Writing for Business - A Whatis.com Blog » use vs. utilize http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business Is your grammar as good as your code? Tue, 21 May 2013 19:44:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Use vs. utilize http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/use-vs-utilize/ http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/use-vs-utilize/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:08:21 +0000 Ivy Wigmore http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/?p=1401 Which is correct?
An executive can _______ a business intelligence dashboard to get an up-to-the moment snapshot of how some element of the business is performing.
a. use
b. utilize


Answer: a

Explanation:
Utile means useful. To utilize means, literally, to make something useful. We use the word, correctly, to mean to use something for a purpose other than its main one or to find a use for something. Since the purpose of the business intelligence dashboard is to enable that snapshot of current performance, it’s used for that purpose, not utilized.

Here’s a comparison of the two words:
McGyver once utilized a shoelace, bubble gum, a house key and hair spray to create a bomb.

If he had put the shoelace in his hiking boots, strolled home chewing the gum, opened his door with the key and proceeded to set his coiffure for the day with the hair spray, he would have been using those items instead.

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