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Synonyms

consignment

American  
[kuhn-sahyn-muhnt] / kənˈsaɪn mənt /

noun

  1. the act of consigning.

  2. something that is consigned.

  3. Commerce. property sent to an agent for sale, storage, or shipment.


adjective

  1. of, relating to, or shipped as goods on consignment.

    consignment selling of gift items.

idioms

  1. on consignment, (of goods) sent to an agent for sale, with title being held by the consignor until a sale is made.

consignment British  
/ kənˈsaɪnmənt /

noun

  1. the act of consigning; commitment

  2. a shipment of goods consigned

  3. for payment by the consignee after sale

    he made the last shipment on consignment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of consignment

First recorded in 1555–65; consign + -ment

Explanation

Consignment means the delivery of things, like clothing or furniture, for sale or donation to someone else. A "consignment shop" is a clothing store that sells other people's clothing and goods. Consignment is a commercial term that refers to a giving over of objects. If your goods are on consignment, you still technically own them while they are on sale at the consignment shop. The word sometimes refers literally to goods being delivered or shipped, such as food or cargo. Consignment can also mean entrusting a person into the care of someone else, as when you put your aging grandparents in an old-aged home.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing consignment

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.

In the living room, an elegant cream-colored linen sofa from the Home Consignment Center is the main piece.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

Jim Wynne, a former FBI agent who worked that case, noticed a pattern emerging in Doyle’s crimes: Consignment fraud.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

This is Consignment Lounge, the Chicago tavern-meets-curio-shop that calls itself “an aesthetically pleasing collection of useless items for sale inside a neighborhood bar.”

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2025

CBP officers at the Port of Milwaukee Express Consignment Operations facility inspected the shipment and sent it to the Federal Bureau of Investigations Headquarters’ Mechanical Engineering Division for further analysis.

From Fox News • Feb. 23, 2022

Translation of a Letter from Timbuctoo, which accompanied the foregoing Consignment.

From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by Jackson, James Grey