Word usage is how a word

Word

In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...

, phrase

Phrase

In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....

, or concept

Concept

The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...

 is used in a language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

. Lexicographers

Lexicography

Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....

 gather samples of written or spoken instances where a word is used and analyze them to determine pattern

Pattern

A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...

s of regional or social usage as well as meaning. A word, for example the English word "donny" (a round rock about the size of a man's head) may be only a rare regional usage, or a word may be used world wide by all English speakers and have one or several evolving definition

Definition

A definition is a passage that explains the meaning of a term , or a type of thing. The term to be defined is the definiendum. A term may have many different senses or meanings...

s such as the word "hacker".

Word usage may also involve grammar

Grammar

In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 and thus be the subject of profound analysis.

See the following pages for some examples of word usages:

• Who (pronoun)
  Who (pronoun)
  The pronoun who, in English, is the interrogative and relative pronoun that is used to refer to humans.The corresponding interrogative pronouns for non-sentient beings are what and which, and the relative pronouns are that and which...
  
  
• Than
  Than
  Than is a grammatical particle analyzed as both a conjunction and a preposition in the English language. It introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives and with words such as more, less, and fewer...
  
  
• While
  While
  "While" is a word in the English language that functions both as a noun and as a subordinating conjunction. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's regional dialect...
  
  
• Gender-neutral pronoun
  Gender-neutral pronoun
  A gender-neutral pronoun is a pronoun that is not associated with any gender. It designates two distinct grammatical phenomena, the first being pronouns/periphrastics that have been assigned nontraditional meanings in modern times out of a concern for gender equity, and the second being genderless...