Useful
Pronunciation
Full definition of useful
Adjective
useful
- Having a practical or beneficial use.
- 2013, Lee S. Langston, The Adaptable Gas Turbine, Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.
Usage notes
Prepositions: useful is used in ''useful for
, useful for
and useful to
. The words useful to are also found in construction such as It is useful to do, in which to'' marks an infinitive rather than being a preposition.