user
1 Americannoun
-
a person or thing that uses.
-
a person who is addicted to or abuses a controlled substance or alcohol; one who uses illegal or addictive drugs, as in
-
Digital Technology. a person who uses a computer, device, or application.
This interface should be more intuitive for users.
noun
noun
-
law
-
the continued exercise, use, or enjoyment of a right, esp in property
-
a presumptive right based on long-continued use
right of user
-
-
(often in combination) a person or thing that uses
a road-user
-
informal a drug addict
Usage
What is a user? A user is someone or something that employs or puts someone or something into service, as in The instructions are written for users of the microwave. In technology, a user is the person who uses a particular piece of hardware (such as a computer) or software (such as a website or app), as in Users complain about frequent updates. User can also refer to someone who regularly takes illegal or addictive drugs. (The verb use can mean to regularly take such drugs, as in I stopped using five years ago.)Example: The user should be able to send and receive messages quickly.
Etymology
Origin of user1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English usere; see use, -er 1
Origin of user2
Noun use of Anglo-French user to use
Explanation
A user is someone who employs or uses a particular thing, like a user of nicotine or a user of an internet site. Since you are reading this, you are a user of Vocabulary.com. Congrats! To use something is to employ it or operate it, so a user is someone who uses or takes advantage of something. If you have a computer and use it for anything, you're a computer user. If you play a video game, you're a video game user. As you can see, this word often applies to technology. That's why they call the first part of a login the username. The people who design technology always have to keep the users in mind; it's important to make tech gadgets that are user-friendly.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company’s chips are built for inference workloads, a form of computation that allows an AI model to respond to user queries.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
“If this is the jump, you shouldn’t be around kids,” Instagram user Stephanie Berry wrote in response to Komrosky’s comments on his Instagram post.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
It also has been shifting to pricing that factors in AI consumption rather than just the number of user “seats.”
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Game shipments are likely to rise around 10% next fiscal year, given user engagement typically quickens in the second year of a console cycle, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The program asks the user to punch in a set of coordinates and then draws the line from those coordinates on the screen.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
