Meanings
- Currently being used.
Our theory in use is often different from the one we espouse to.
- archaicUsed; accustomed.
The man, ye should ken, was cast upon a rock in the sea, where it appears the Good People were in use to come and rest as they went through to Ireland.
1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
adjective(of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; (‘engaged’ is a British term for a busy telephone line)
adjectivecurrently being used
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish käytössä
- käytössäbeing used
French en usage
- en usagebeing used
Cite this entry
in use. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20use
“in use.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20use. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in use,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20use.
Source: in use on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.