A use theory of meaning seeks to explain linguistic meaning in terms of the practices of a linguistic community. Use theories are motivated by the plausible idea that ultimately, the meanings of words are a matter of how speakers use them, and that changes in usage will produce changes in meaning. Philosophers are attracted by the hope that a use theory might avoid the relentlessly abstract and formal apparatus of logic-based approaches to linguistic meaning. But the gap between words and sentences and between individual usages and community patterns of use is not easily closed.