(computer science) a copy of a file or directory on a separate storage device; "he made a backup in case the original was accidentally damaged or erased"
an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage; "a traffic backup on the main street"; "he discovered a backup in the toilet"
a silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion; used in many alloys and to coat other metals to prevent corrosion; obtained chiefly from cassiterite where it occurs as tin oxide
prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface
the service (electric power or water or transportation) provided by a public utility; "the cost of utilities never decreases"; "all the utilities were lost after the hurricane"
a facility composed of one or more pieces of equipment connected to or part of a structure and designed to provide a service such as heat or electricity or water or sewage disposal; "the price of the house included all utilities"
the quality of being of practical use
a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
(economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choice
drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect; "the operation of a computer presents and interesting analogy to the working of the brain"; "the models show by analogy how matter is built up"
an inference that if things agree in some respects they probably agree in others
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria; "ghosts and other unreal entities"; "unreal propaganda serving as news"
not actually such; being or seeming fanciful or imaginary; "this conversation is getting more and more unreal"; "the fantastically unreal world of government bureaucracy"; "the unreal world of advertising art"
derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin; "the architecture was a kind of bastard suggesting Gothic but not true Gothic"