1. in decision making and economic theory, the subjective value of some outcome to the individual.

2. in industrial and organizational psychology, the value of an intervention or program as judged on the basis of its monetary worth to the organization. For example, there are methodologies for assessing the monetary gains achieved from using particular tests to select employees or particular training programs.

3. in biology, the usefulness of a characteristic in preserving the life of an organism or continuing the species. Both artificial selection and natural selection operate to increase utility.

4. in utilitarianism, the goodness of an act as determined by the amount or degree of happiness derived from it.

5. in general, the capacity of a thing to accomplish its designed purpose, as in the explanatory utility of a psychological theory.