Difference Between Usage and Use

Usage vs Use

One shouldn’t get confused with the differences between the terms “usage” and “use.” Although “usage” is originally rooted from the word “use,” the two still have some subtle distinctions that must be made clear due to their importance.

“Use,” in its noun form, is actually taken from its verb form “use,” which means “to employ or utilize something for a specific function or purpose.” An example is, “I use my bag to carry my stuff to school every day.” Next, when interpreting the word “use” as a noun like in the sentence, “What’s the use of that notebook if you’re not going to write anything in it during your class?” The term is actually referring to the worth or given application or purpose of a particular object at that given time. So it is the same as asking “What’s the purpose or worth of the notebook?”

The term “usage,” on the other hand, has a definition that’s not too far from the word “use.” It is actually almost the same with the latter. The only difference in terms of the definition is the sense of continuity or commonness of something that is attached to the term “usage.” In most sentence structures, the noun form “usage” is more appropriate than using “use” in its noun sense because the former seems to be more formal sounding. An example of using the term “usage” in a sentence is, “In general usage, the words ‘lady’ and ‘woman’ are the same.”

Another example is the sentence, “The usage of this weapon is more of a melee type as compared to the rest which are mostly ranged.” It is almost as if you are saying that the weapon being specified is, by custom, commonly used as a melee weapon rather than as a ranged type of weapon. When asking about the use of parts of speech, like verbs, it is more appropriate to say “What’s the usage of verbs in the sentence?” rather than asking “What’s the use of verbs in the sentence?” It is because verbs will always and continuously be used as such in sentences.

Summary:

1.The term ”usage” is always a noun while “use” can either be a verb or a noun.
2.“Use” is more popularly used as a verb (no matter what kind of tense) than as a noun.
3.“Usage” has an added sense of continuity or commonness attached to something.
4.“Usage” is a more specialized word that is often used in formal practice. By convention and custom, it is more acceptable to use “usage” than the noun form of “use.”

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