Use vs Usage
As the difference between use and usage is not much paid attention to, the two words, use and usage, are often confused and hence, are interchanged. It is not correct to interchange them since they are different in their meanings. The word use is used in the sense of ‘employ’. On the other hand, the word usage is used in the sense of ‘practice’ or ‘convention’ or ‘the act of using something’. This is the main difference between the two words. It is interesting to note that the word usage is frequently used in English grammar. In short, it can be said that the word usage is a grammar related word.
What does Use mean?
The word use is used in the sense of employ. Observe the two sentences given below.
I used it for a long time.
She did use her book very well.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word use is used in the sense of ‘employ’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I employed it for a long time’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she employed her book very well’.
The word use is generally used as a verb as you can see from the sentences given above. At the same time it can be used as a noun also as in the sentence ‘he is not aware of its use’. In this sentence, the word use is used as a noun and the meaning of the sentence would be ‘he is not aware of its utility’. Here the word use is used in the sense of ‘utility’.
According to the Oxford English dictionary, the word use is also used in the sense ‘apply (a name or title) to oneself.’ Look at the following example.
She uses her maiden name still.
Here, the word use is used in the sense apply to oneself as we are speaking about a name.
What does Usage mean?
The word usage is used in the sense of ‘practice’ or ‘convention’ or ‘the act of using something’. Observe the three sentences given below.
The usage of the word is different.
It has its own usage.
The usage of the tools was very high.
In the first two sentences, you can find that the word usage is used in the sense of ‘convention’ or ‘practice’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘the convention of the word is different.’ Here, we are referring to the way in which a word is normally and correctly used. Then, the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘it has its own practice’. In the third sentence, the word usage is used in the sense of the act of using something and consequently the sentence means ‘the act of using the tools was very high.’
What is the difference between Use and Usage?
• The word use is used in the sense of ‘employ’.
• On the other hand, the word usage is used in the sense of ‘practice’ or ‘convention’ or ‘the act of using something’.
• The word usage is frequently used in English grammar.
• The word use is used as a verb as well as a noun.
• The word use is also used in the sense ‘apply (a name or title) to oneself.’