What does user mean?
The word user names a person who puts a product, service, device, or system to practical use. It is especially common in discussions of computers, software, websites, online accounts, and other services, where it identifies the person operating or interacting with a system. The term is broadly neutral and can refer to an occasional user, a regular user, or an expert power user. More generally, user can mean someone who habitually uses a particular resource or substance, although expressions such as "drug user" may sound clinical or stigmatizing in some contexts. As a verb, user is an informal alternative to use, but the noun is much more common. User is also related etymologically to words such as usage, usable, utility, and usual, all reflecting the idea of employing or making use of something. Its usefulness lies in identifying the human participant in a system while distinguishing that person from the system itself.
A person who uses or operates a product, service, device, or system; more broadly, a person who habitually makes use of something.
"The software is popular with students and other occasional users."
The general technological sense is dominant today. In technical writing, "user" can refer broadly to anyone interacting with a system, regardless of their level of expertise.
To use or operate a product, device, or system, especially informally in a computing context.
"Users can user the application without creating an account."
This verb form is less common than the noun and can sound informal or awkward outside technical and conversational contexts.
Use users for two or more people who use or operate a product, service, or system.
"Users can update their preferences in the settings menu."
The word user comes from a Latin term for a tenant or occupier: someone who puts a resource to use.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does user come from?
The English word entered Middle English from Old French user, a form meaning a tenant or occupier. It derives from Latin usarius, which was built on uter, meaning use, and ultimately on the Latin verb uti, to use. The same Indo-European and Latin roots appear in cognates such as usage, utility, usual, and usable, while the word’s development into a general term for anyone who employs a product or service reflects the broad modernization of English vocabulary associated with technology and commerce.
Related word forms
How user is actually used
User is neutral and widely used in general, technical, commercial, and institutional contexts. In discussions of technology, it usually means someone interacting with a device, application, or service. The phrase "drug user" can sound blunt or stigmatizing, so alternatives such as "person who uses drugs" may be preferred when the person’s identity is the focus.
Easily confused with user
A user is the person who operates or benefits from a product or service, whereas use is the action or purpose of putting something to practical effect.