use to

From use (“to perform habitually”) + to.

• IPA^(key): /juːs.tu/, /juːs.tə/

use to (no third-person singular simple present, no present participle, simple past and past participle used to)

1. (now uncommon outside certain constructions) Infinitive or present tense form of used to: formerly (and habitually or repeatedly) be accustomed to.

   Did I use to wear that?

   • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter IX, in Mansfield Park: […], volume III, London: […] T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, pages 180–181:

     I did not use to think her wanting in self possession, but she had not quite enough for the demands of yesterday.

2. (nonstandard, proscribed) Synonym of used to

   I use to go every year, until I moved out of the area.

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see use,‎ to.
   • 2022 December 2, Isabelle Khurshudyan, Mary Ilyushina, Kostiantyn Khudov, “Russia and Ukraine are fighting the first full-scale drone war”, in Washington Post‎:

     Drones have become so critical to battlefield success that at times they are used to take out other drones.

• Use to is now generally only used in the past tense (used to),[1] although use to is still standard with did,[2] as in did I use to do that? or he did not use to do that. In other cases, such as I use to go to the fair every year, it is considered an error (but a common one, influenced by the near- or exact- homophony of the two forms) and should instead exist in the past tense form used to. See usage notes in used to for more.

• touse