consumer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that consumes.
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Economics. a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.
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Ecology. an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.
noun
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a person who acquires goods and services for his or her own personal needs Compare producer
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a person or thing that consumes
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(usually plural) ecology an organism, esp an animal, within a community that feeds upon plants or other animals See also decomposer producer
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A heterotrophic organism that feeds on other organisms in a food chain.
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◆ Herbivores that feed on green plants and detritivores that feed on decaying matter are called primary consumers. Carnivores that feed on herbivores or detritivores are called secondary consumers, while those that feed on other carnivores are called tertiary consumers.
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Compare producer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of consumer
First recorded in 1375–1425, for the earlier sense “squanderer,” 1525–35 for the current sense; Middle English; consume + -er 1
Compare meaning
How does consumer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A consumer is someone who buys or consumes, or uses up, something. An economy could not keep functioning without consumers. Long before smorgasbords, shopping malls, or eBay, people craved pretty and tasty things. So those who spoke Latin invented the word consumere, which meant to use up, eat, or waste. Being a consumer doesn't necessarily mean you are squandering. We're all consumers when we go through the checkout line at the grocery store, for instance.
Vocabulary lists containing consumer
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Word Generation Science - Life Science
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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.
The company remains the leader in the consumer chatbot market, but recently missed some internal revenue targets and watched rival Anthropic pull ahead among business customers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Nvidia last week unveiled a powerful laptop chip for Windows machines, staking its claim in the market for next-generation consumer PCs integrated with AI.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
More than 2.5 billion people use Apple products worldwide, and the company has legions of fans who line up outside its stores to buy the latest iPhone, MacBook, AirPods and other consumer electronics.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The New York Fed’s survey of consumer expectations for May will be released at 11 a.m.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
The Internet has accomplished what even the most fervent consumer advocates usually cannot: it has vastly shrunk the gap between the experts and the public.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
