Crossword Genius

Put to bad use (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abused

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'put to bad use' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'put to bad use' is the wordplay.
'put' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'to' becomes 'use' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'use' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'used' mean this).
'bad' is an anagram of 'abd'.
'use' inserted within 'abd' is 'ABUSED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abused that I've seen before include "Reviled or exploited" , "Reviled, called nasty names" , "Ill-treated" , "Reviled, aimed verbal assault at" , "were cruel to partners!" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.