consume
Americanverb (used with object)
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consumes,
present (3rd person singular)
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consumed,
past participle, past
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consuming
present participle
verb (used without object)
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consumes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
consumed,
past participle, past
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consuming
present participle
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to undergo destruction; waste away.
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to use or use up consumer goods.
verb
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(tr) to eat or drink
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(tr; often passive) to engross or obsess
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(tr) to use up; expend
my car consumes little oil
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to destroy or be destroyed by burning, decomposition, etc
fire consumed the forest
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(tr) to waste or squander
the time consumed on that project was excessive
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(passive) to waste away
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overconsumeverb
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preconsumeverb (used with object)
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underconsumeverb (used with object)
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consumingadjective
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half-consumedadjective
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unconsumedadjective
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consuminglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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consumesimple
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consumessimple
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have consumedperfect
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has consumedperfect
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am consumingprogressive
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are consumingprogressive
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is consumingprogressive
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have been consumingperfect progressive
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has been consumingperfect progressive
Past
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consumedsimple
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had consumedperfect
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was consumingprogressive
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were consumingprogressive
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had been consumingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consume
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French consumer, from Latin consūmere, from con- con- + sūmere “to take up” (equivalent to subs-, variant of sub- sub- + emere “to take, buy”; cf. emptor ( def. ))
Explanation
"The Freshman 15" describes freshman-year college students who gain about fifteen pounds because they consume way too much lousy dorm food all day long. To consume a cake is to eat it, the idea being that you ate the whole thing. To say a fire consumed a building is to say that the entire building was destroyed. Consume means to devour, to take in, to use up. The Unites States is often referred to as a consumer society because our economy is based on things being consumed. Whether it's gas, clothes, burgers, music, or anything that we use up as we purchase it, it's something that we consume. If we consume all the oil, there will be none left to burn.
Vocabulary lists containing consume
Eat Your Words
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Number the Stars
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Buck told the BBC that these changes mean it's "far easier to over-consume or consume in ways that add to our weight".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
To Lavina, however, hyperscale campuses like the Landover park are not comparable to a standard Maryland data center that may consume a few dozen megawatts of power at most.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Conventional gas turbines use a mechanical compressor to raise air pressure, a process that can consume roughly half of the turbine's power output.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
“We cannot maintain the business model of constant consumption and constant growth and recycle our way out of the problem—we have to produce and consume fewer things,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
All around us, groups of five to ten people sit together and quietly consume just enough food to live for another day.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Jake Drwal, a fit 35-year-old who owns a snack-food company in Los Angeles, is careful about what he consumes: meat, vegetables, rice—and Celsius.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The amount of material expelled could even be comparable to the amount that the black hole eventually consumes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
In normal circumstances, the world economy consumes a little over 100 million barrels of oil daily.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The first chapter still consumes me with grief, anger, and inherited trauma.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Humans and monkeys are both primates, and Ebola feeds on primates in the same way that a predator consumes certain kinds of flesh.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Over 18 percent of them said they consumed social media content until 1:00 am or later.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
That possibility is especially notable because fructose is widely consumed in the United States.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Everyone in their 50s is consumed with staving off the inevitable.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Then he says something that has consumed him ever since.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Of far greater concern at that time, of course, was my own future, for on that night all that consumed my thoughts was the fear of the next day’s injections!
From "Bunnicula" by Deborah Howe and James Howe
OK, before I let you go, is there any PSA you want to give folks right now about whether they should be consuming lettuce?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Wangchuk fasted in scorching heat in the capital, Delhi, for 26 days in June and July, consuming only salt and water.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
That mismatch may be a warning sign, since massive AI capex could put downward pressure on valuations if investors think that the spending is consuming too much cash without generating enough returns.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
"But because most people are relatively sedentary, many people are likely consuming more protein than they actually need, which probably has negative health consequences."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
Only Inej wanted to chat with anyone, and that was because she seemed to have developed a consuming interest in all things nautical.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
