consume
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
consuming
present participle
-
to undergo destruction; waste away.
-
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
-
consumedsimple
-
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
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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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:
"Eating while distracted, for instance watching TV, can lead people to consume more because they pay less attention to how much they've eaten," says Higgs.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
"The story and the scale and the spectacle is something that the world, I think, is ready to consume."
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
So there’s no need for the rich to go into debt in order to consume.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
This imbalance suggests that focusing primarily on what people should eat less of may be overlooking an important opportunity to improve cardiovascular health by encouraging them to consume more of a beneficial nutrient.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Each may consume several hundred aphids before the ceaseless turning of the cycle of its life brings the time when it will spin a white silken cocoon in which to pass the pupal stage.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
On this one, it’s an interactive art and easily consumes hours for die-hards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The U.S. itself consumes about 2.94 million barrels of diesel a day, so the entirety of the Russian deal would provide the U.S. with perhaps 12 days of diesel supply.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
However, this process consumes considerable energy and places limits on how quickly information can be recorded.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Spending another 15 minutes searching for a particular brand of yogurt may represent good service, but it also consumes time that a worker could otherwise spend completing another order.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
“They say black absorbs all color. It blots and consumes it and gives us nothing back. That’s wrong, don’t you think?”
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas estimates the blazes consumed more than 1.9 million hectares of land in the first nine months of the year.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
He explained that officers' time was being consumed "investigating trivial matters".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Consequentially, the two biggest legal challenges that consumed the days leading up to the midterms have effectively been shut down.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
The drinks are packaged, distributed and consumed more like beer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Even in his ailing state White assisted Grove with the book, as if he were consumed by an unsolved case, until the manuscript was completed.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
During his rookie season in 2020, the Chargers quarterback told GQ magazine he was “living off” the sandwiches, consuming both a Steak Philly sub and a Chicken & Bacon Ranch sub each night for dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
The difference suggests that regularly consuming these fruits may help blood vessels function more effectively.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
People may be consuming more healthcare, such as expensive weight-loss drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Instead of concentrating almost exclusively on reducing salt, future dietary recommendations may increasingly emphasize the combined benefits of consuming less sodium and more potassium.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Drums had begun to beat, the fire was blazing fiercely, great long orange tongues consuming the fuel and thrusting upwards and sometimes outwards as if to engulf the watchers.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
