used to

/ (juːst) /


adjective
  1. made familiar with; accustomed to: I am used to hitchhiking

verb(tr)
  1. (takes an infinitive or implied infinitive) used as an auxiliary to express habitual or accustomed actions, states, etc, taking place in the past but not continuing into the present: I don't drink these days, but I used to; I used to fish here every day

usage For used to

The most common negative form of used to is didn't used to (or didn't use to), but in formal contexts used not to is preferred

Words Nearby used to

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use used to in a sentence

  • And Sarah Palin is in her bus, hurtling full-speed toward self-parody as an attention-seeking political used-to-be.

    Dems Need a Bachmann! | Gloria Feldt | September 10, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Its original walls are still standing, and form part of a church which is used to-day.

    The Spanish Pioneers | Charles F. Lummis
  • The words he had used then were as well known to her as the words he had used to-day.

    Great Possessions | Mrs. Wilfrid Ward
  • Any military metaphor which is used to-day will surely have a very arresting significance.

    The Whole Armour of God | John Henry Jowett
  • Another practice is to hold over some of the large starter used to-day for mother starter.

    The Book of Cheese | Charles Thom and Walter Warner Fisk
  • Chemicals are sometimes used to-day in the early stages before the linen is spread on the grass.

    Clothing and Health | Helen Kinne

Other Idioms and Phrases with used to

used to

Accustomed or habituated to. This expression is often put as be or get used to, as in I'm not used to driving a manual-shift car, or She can't get used to calling him Dad. [Early 1500s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.