used to

English

Alternative forms

• usta (informal), useta (informal)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juːs(t).tu/, /juːs(t).tə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Homophone: use to
• Rhymes: -uːstu, -uːstə
• Not homophonous with used in the sense of "made use of" (as in "the key was used to open the door"), whose pronunciation is IPA^(key): /juːzd/.

Etymology 1

From used, past participle of use (“(archaic sense) to be in the habit of”) + to.

Adjective

used to (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic, with noun phrase) Accustomed to, tolerant or accepting of.

   I am used to cleaning up other people’s mess.  I became used to his ways.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.

   • 1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     He was shivering a little, for he had always been used to sleeping in a proper bed, and by this time his coat had worn so thin and threadbare from hugging that it was no longer any protection to him.

Synonyms

• wont to
• accustomed to

Antonyms

• unused to

Translations

This section is only for adjectives meaning "used to". For verbs which mean "to be used to", see be used to#Translations.

accustomed to

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: متعود على m (metʕawwed ʕala)

• Armenian: սովոր (hy) (sovor)
• Belarusian: звы́клы (zvýkly), прывы́клы (pryvýkly), абвы́клы (abvýkly)
• Belizean Creole: yoostu
• Breton: gwechall (br)
• Bulgarian: свикнал (bg) (sviknal)
• Catalan: acostumat a (ca)
• Czech: zvyklý (cs)
• Danish: vant til
• Dutch: gewend te (nl)
• Finnish: tottunut (fi) (+ illative case)
• French: habitué (fr) (à)
• Galician: afeito, adoito
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: gewohnt (+ direct accusative or zu + infinitive), gewöhnt (+ an + accusative)
• Greek: συνηθισμένος (el) (synithisménos)
• Haitian Creole: abitye
• Hebrew: רָגִיל לְ־ (he) (ragíl l'-)
• Hungarian: hozzá van szokva, megszokik (hu), hozzászokik (hu) (the latter two in past forms: megszokta, hozzászokott etc.)
• Italian: abituato a (it)
• Latin: solitus
• Macedonian: нави́кнат (navíknat), на́учен (náučen)
• Neapolitan: abbituato
• Norwegian: ha for vane

  Bokmål: være vant til

• Persian: عادت کردن به (fa) ('âdat kardan be)
• Polish: przyzwyczajony m
• Portuguese: acostumado (pt)
• Romanian: obișnuit (la, cu) (ro) m, acomodat (la, cu) m
• Russian: привы́кший (ru) (privýkšij) (к (k)... k... + dative case)
• Scottish Gaelic: cleachdte
• Slovak: zvyknutý
• Spanish: acostumbrado a (es)
• Swedish: van (sv) vid
• Thai: เคยชิน (kəəi-chin), ชิน (th) (chin)
• Turkish: alışkın (tr)
• Ukrainian: зви́клий (zvýklyj)
• Welsh: arfer (cy)

Etymology 2

From used, past of use (“(archaic sense) to be in the habit of”) + to (“infinitive marker”).

Verb

used to

2. (temporal location) Formerly and habitually or repeatedly, but possibly no longer, did.

   I used to be undecided, but now I’m sure.  I used to like that band long ago, and I was surprised I still do.  I used to know a guy from the UK who pronounced "mother" with the "r".  It used to be me who ran the company.  There used to be open fields here. Now it's a shopping mall.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2:

     He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.

   • 1980, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson (lyrics), Agnetha Fältskog (lead vocalist), ABBA, The Winner Takes It All

     But tell me does she kiss like I used to kiss you? / Does it feel the same, when she calls your name?

   • 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings‎^[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 94:

     When I was a kid I used to think it was all the same clouds that kept coming by.

   • 2002, David I. Grossvogel, Didn't You Used to Be Depardieu?‎^[2]:
   • 2003, G. E. Kruckeberg, Things My Daddy Used to Say‎^[3]:

Usage notes

• With did as an auxiliary verb (as in the negative and interrogative), use to is considered standard in American English (e.g., Did you use to walk to school?; He didn't use to behave that way!; It's hard to drive without power steering, did people just use to be stronger?). In other situations, such as I use to go to the fair every year, it is considered an error to not write the past tense form used to, which is caused by the two forms sounding nearly or exactly the same. In British English, used to may also be acceptable with did as an auxiliary.
• The negative may be formed as used to not or used not to (usen't to, usedn't to), did not use to (didn't use to), or did not used to, the last of which is sometimes considered an error.
• The interrogative is constructed like did [subject] use to...? (did [subject] used to is also found, but is considered an error) or used [subject] to...?, varying by region and era.
• When it is not necessary to include the following verb, it is usual in some regions to use the verb do as a stand-in (he works harder than he used to do), whereas in others it is usual to use no verb at all (he works harder than he used to).

Derived terms

• ain't what it used to was
• used-to-be

 

Translations

formerly and habitually or repeatedly

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: كَانَ (ar) (kāna) + present tense
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belizean Creole: yoostu, doz
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: use the past tense with an indication of time in the past such as 曾經／曾经 (céngjīng)

• Dutch: use the past tense with an indication of time in the past such as voorheen or vroeger
• Esperanto: antaŭe + past tense
• Finnish: (past indicative form of the verb +) ennen (fi), (subject in adessive case +) oli tapana
• French: ^{(please verify)} use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows; can clarify with adverbs such as autrefois
• Galician: adoitar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: (formerly, not anymore) früher (de), damals (de), mal (de); (habitually) oft (de), regelmäßig (de), ständig (de), in formal style also pflegte zu + infinitive
• Greek: please add this translation if you can
• Hebrew: past tense of היה + present participle or present tense with an optional indication of a past time such as פעם (pá'am)
• Hungarian: régen (hu), régebben (hu), azelőtt (hu), korábban (hu), valaha (hu), annak idején + past tense
• Irish: use the imperfect tense of the verb; ba ghnách le
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows
• Japanese: past tense followed by ものだ
• Khmer: ធ្លាប់ (km) (thlŏəp)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows or use the imperfect of soleō + the infinitive of the verb that follows
• Lithuanian: use the past iterative tense of the verb that follows
• Macedonian: ^{(please verify)} use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows
• Malay: ^{(please verify)} pernah (ms) (+ verb)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pleide å, brukte å

  Nynorsk: brukte å, bruka å

• Persian: زمانی (zamâni) (or synonyms) + imperfect (formal), قدیما (qadimâ) (or synonyms) + imperfect (colloquial), simple past + ـی (-ê) (archaic)
• Polish: kiedyś (pl) (+ imperfect past)
• Portuguese: use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows or imperfect of costumar (pt) followed by infinitive
• Romanian: obișnui (ro) (in the imperfect) + să + (verb in the subjunctive)
• Russian: ра́ньше (ru) (ránʹše) or use приходи́лось (prixodílosʹ) + infinitive
• Spanish: use the imperfect tense of the verb (for states or actions) that follows or imperfect tense of soler (es) + infinitive (only for actions)
• Swedish: brukade (sv) + verb in infinitive
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} eskiden (tr), ^{(please verify)} önceden (tr) (+ verb denoting a present tense and a past tense)
• Ukrainian: рані́ше (raníše)
• Vietnamese: đã từng
• Welsh: in the literary language, use the imperfect tense of the verb that follows or the imperfect of arfer (cy) followed by the verbal noun; in the colloquial language use the imperfect or conditional of bod (cy) plus yn (cy), then optionally arfer (cy), then the verbal noun.

References

• “used to”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “used to”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• ousted, toused