Use vs. Utilize

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Diana calling from Dallas, Texas.

Thanks so much for having me on the show.

It’s our pleasure, Diana. Welcome to the show.

Thank you.

So my question is, can the words used and utilized be used interchangeably? Because I feel like lately, utilized is like the buzzword around my office, and everyone uses it all the time when I think that they could have just as easily used the word used instead of utilized. And it annoys me, quite frankly.

What kind of work do you do in your office?

I work for a nonprofit, a large nonprofit.

Okay.

Okay.

Very interesting.

So they’re using utilize rather than utilizing utilize around your office.

Exactly. And I feel like it’s getting to the point where my coworker will ask me, may I utilize your stapler instead of may I use your stapler?

No, really?

Yes, it’s that bad.

Do they want to use it as a stapler or do they want to utilize it as a hammer?

Exactly. And also part of my job is I look at resumes and I feel like the word utilize is overutilized.

So, Martha, this is really interesting. We’ve encountered this before. There’s kind of a new dynamic here. How do you change the behavior of a whole office?

Well, first of all, you have to point out that there is a difference between use and utilize. Not everybody observes it. But utilize, as you suggested, Grant, you use a stapler to staple things. You utilize it as a paperweight or you utilize it as a hammer to put that thing back on the wall. So when we utilize it, it’s about taking something and using it maybe for a purpose that it wasn’t intended to be used for. Or when you take something and you put it to good use rather than for the use that it was meant for.

Exactly.

Okay.

So at the bottom of this, Martha, I think you and I, we agree that you should probably always use use because it’s completely safe, right?

Yeah, unless you’re using the screwdriver to open a paint can instead of to screw something in.

Right, but utilize should be an incredibly rare word.

Exactly. You should almost never pull it out, right?

Yeah, I would agree with that. I would agree with that. And I think you’re right that, I mean, a lot of people are allergic to words that end in I-Z-E anyway. And if you’re hearing it all around you, if they’re asking to utilize your stapler, I can understand why that would bother you.

So how are you going to handle that in your office?

I don’t know. I think I will have to convene a meeting and just go to town on them. And I have two experts to back me up.

Can we listen in? Can we be on a speakerphone or something?

I want to find out what go to town means in a non-profit.

You’re going to climb up on the desk and start hammering, right?

With a stapler.

I work with Girl Scouts and they’re pretty tough cookies.

Yeah, of course the girls.

That’s a nice joke. I love that.

That’s good, Diana. Well, we agree with you completely.

Okay, well, thank you so much. I thought I was the only one and I was going crazy.

I would say, just as one closing bit of advice, people tend to take these kind of corrections better if you buy them lunch first.

Or cookies.

Or cookies. Some kind of gentle kind of help.

Use is a better word here. It’s shorter, it sounds better, and it doesn’t sound stuffy and pretentious.

That’s it, stuffy and pretentious.

I agree.

Well, thank you so much, guys. I appreciate it.

Take care.

Take care.

Bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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