yoo-TIL-uh-teez
/juˈtɪlətiz/
utilities is pronounced yoo-TIL-uh-teez (/juˈtɪlətiz/). Utilities refers to services provided by an organization to maintain or operate facilities, such as electricity, water, and gas, or the tools and software designed to support tasks. In plural form, it can also mean useful services or items that support daily needs. The term is commonly used in business, engineering, and IT contexts to denote essential system services.
Utilities refers to services provided by an organization to maintain or operate facilities, such as electricity, water, and gas, or the tools and software designed to support tasks. In plural form, it can also mean useful services or items that support daily needs. The term is commonly used in business, engineering, and IT contexts to denote essential system services.
"The city expanded its utilities to include fiber-optic broadband and upgraded water treatment."
"Our company negotiates lower utility costs as part of its energy efficiency initiative."
"The software suite provides a range of utilities for data cleaning and transformation."
Utilities is pronounced you-TIL-i-teez, with primary stress on the second syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU: juːˈtɪlɪtiz. Start with a 'you' sound, then the stressed 'til' as in 'till,' followed by a light 'ih' and end with 'teez.' Practicing the sequence you-TIL-i-tiz helps maintain the two light unstressed syllables before the final 'teez.'
Common errors include reducing the second syllable too much (you-TIL-iz instead of you-TIL-i-tiz) and misplacing the final 'iz' as a quick 'eez' sound. Another mistake is conflating 'util' with 'util-ih' in rapid speech. Correction: emphasize the 'til' syllable fully (ˈtɪl) and clearly pronounce 'ɪ-tiz' (i-tiz) with a short, crisp 'i' and a voiced final 'z' rather than a voiceless 's' sound.
Across US, UK, and AU, the main differences are vowel quality and rhoticity. US and AU are rhotic; you’ll hear the rhotic 'r' only if followed by a vowel in connected speech and a slightly lighter /ɪ/ in the second syllable. In some UK accents, the /ɪ/ can be closer to a clipped 'i' and final -iz may sound like /ɪtiz/ with less emphasis on the final syllable. Overall, the stress pattern remains juːˈtɪlɪtiz in all three, but vowel realisations differ slightly.
Because it has three consecutive syllables with an unstressed rhythm between the prominent stress on the second syllable, and a cluster at the end '-lities' which can blur to 'lit-ees' if spoken quickly. The mid-unstressed vowels reduce, so you may slide into a schwa-like sound. Focus on crisp /ˈtɪl/ and a clear final /tiz/ to avoid merging syllables.
A distinctive challenge is producing the /ˈtɪl/ stress peak after an initial 'juː' sequence, without elongating the 'u' into 'you' or compressing the 'til' into a weak syllable. Ensure you keep the secondary syllable light but not silent, and pronounce the final 'iz' as a voiced /z/, not a whispery /s/. Practice with minimal pairs like 'utility' vs 'utilities' to feel the plural suffix /-ɪtiz/ vs the singular /-ɪti/.
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Utilities originates from the adjective utility, dating to the 15th century from Middle French utilité or Latin utilis meaning 'useful.' The concept broadened in the 19th century to include public services essential for a community, such as water, gas, and electricity, often administered by municipal or utility companies. The plural form arose to denote multiple such services or facilities, and in modern contexts it also expands to software utilities, which are small programs that perform common tasks to support computer operation. The term is closely tied to the idea of utility value—usefulness and practical relevance—across engineering, infrastructure, and information technology. First known uses appear in legal and economic texts addressing public works and municipal services in the 1800s, with the term gradually cementing its expanded sense into everyday language as cities and digital systems grew more complex.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "utilities" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "utilities" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "utilities"
-ies sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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