use to - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From use (“to perform habitually”) + to.

• IPA(key): /juːs.tu/, /juːs.tə/

use to (third-person singular simple present **use to, no present participle, simple past used to, no past participle)

1. (now uncommon outside certain constructions) Infinitive or present tense form of used to: formerly (and habitually or repeatedly) be accustomed to.
   Did I use to wear that?
2. (nonstandard, proscribed) Synonym of used to.
   I use to go every year, until I moved out of the area.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see use,‎ to.
   • 2022 December 2, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Mary Ilyushina, Kostiantyn Khudov, “Russia and Ukraine are fighting the first full-scale drone war”, in Washington Post‎[1]:
     Drones have become so critical to battlefield success that at times they are used to take out other drones.

• Use to is now generally only used in the past tense (used to),[1] although use to is still standard with did (albeit with more universality in American English than British English),[2] as in did I use to do that? or he did not use to do that. In other cases, such as I use to go to the fair every year, it is considered an error (but a common one, influenced by the near- or exact- homophony of the two forms) and should instead exist in the past tense form used to. See usage notes in used to for more.
• The past-tense form usedst to is used with thou.

1. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Use to”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
2. ^ Merriam-Webster: Is it 'used to' or 'use to'

• touse