Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

u ser group (user groups ) N‑COUNT A user group is a group of people with the same interests, who use a particular product or service. □  PLATFORM is an alliance of more than 80 rail user groups. □  There is always someone else online in the patient user group.

user|name /juː zə ^r ne I m/ (usernames ) N‑COUNT Your username is the name that you use when accessing a particular computer, program, website, or service. □  I typed in my username and password and the screen was just blank.

ush|er /ʌ ʃə ^r / (ushers , ushering , ushered )

1 VERB If you usher someone somewhere, you show them where they should go, often by going with them. [FORMAL ] □ [V n prep/adv] I ushered him into the office. □ [V n prep/adv] They were quickly ushered away.

2 N‑COUNT An usher is a person who shows people where to sit, for example at a wedding or at a concert. □  He did part-time work as an usher in a theatre.

3 N‑COUNT An usher is a person who organizes people who are attending a law court in Britain.

▸  usher in PHRASAL VERB If one thing ushers in another thing, it indicates that the other thing is about to begin. [FORMAL ] □ [V P n] …a unique opportunity to usher in a new era of stability.

USMC /juː es em siː / also U.S.M.C. N‑PROPER USMC is an abbreviation for United States Marine Corps .

USN /juː es e n/ also U.S.N. N‑PROPER USN is an abbreviation for United States Navy .

USP /ju ː es pi ː/ (USPs ) N‑COUNT The USP of a product or service is a particular feature of it which can be used in advertising to show how it is different from, and better than, other similar products or services. USP is an abbreviation for 'Unique Selling Point'. [BUSINESS ] □  Fabulous lake views are the USP of this single-storey home.

usu.usu. is a written abbreviation for usually .

usu|al ◆◆◇ /juː ʒuəl/

1 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] Usual is used to describe what happens or what is done most often in a particular situation. □  It is a neighborhood beset by all the usual inner-city problems. □  She's smiling her usual friendly smile. □  After lunch there was a little more clearing up to do than usual. □  It is usual to tip waiters, porters, guides and drivers. ● N‑SING Usual is also a noun. □  The barman appeared to take their order. 'Good morning, sir. The usual?'

2 PHRASE You use as usual to indicate that you are describing something that normally happens or that is normally the case. □  As usual there will be the local and regional elections on June the twelfth. □  The front pages are, as usual, a mixture of domestic and foreign news.

3 PHRASE If something happens as usual , it happens in the way that it normally does, especially when other things have changed. □  When somebody died everything went on as usual, as if it had never happened.

4business as usual → see business

usu|al|ly ◆◆◇ /juː ʒuəli/

1 ADV [ADV before v] If something usually happens, it is the thing that most often happens in a particular situation. □  The best information about hotels usually comes from friends who have been there. □  They ate, as they usually did, in the kitchen. □  Usually, the work is boring. □  Offering only one loan, usually an installment loan, is part of the plan.

2 PHRASE You use more than usually to show that something shows even more of a particular quality than it normally does. □  She felt more than usually hungry after her excursion. □  He was more than usually depressed by problems at work. SYNONYMS usually ADV 1