consignment

American  

[kuhn-sahyn-muhnt] / kənˈsaɪn mənt /

noun

• consignments
  plural

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconsignment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consignments
  plural

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

consignment consignments

“We had a table and chairs that would seat 12 people and came from Peter’s grandparents. The table was marred on top and the consignment people wouldn’t take it,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Border Force had been tipped off about the illegal consignment by the National Crime Agency.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

After gas spending, miscellaneous retailers—a category including gift shops and consignment stores—registered the highest growth in sales with a 2.3% monthly gain.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Mayweather wrote a check for $200,000 to Las Vegas high-end consignment store Gold and Beyond for the timepiece on Dec. 25, 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Abbey takes piano lessons on a portable electric keyboard that my father bought from a consignment shop in Key Largo.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

Archived, whose clientele consists mostly of celebrities and high-profile curators such as Timothée Chalamet, Travis Scott and Don Toliver, sources its pieces through consignments from sellers and endless hours spent hunting across international marketplaces.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

The correspondence from Defra also highlighted a pilot scheme which followed up on plant consignments that had not attended the border control post within three hours of arrival at the port.

From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026

"We're seeing 20 to 30 percent more engagement, more registration, more people bidding," Ibrahim Faraj, Propstore's UK consignments manager, explained at a media preview of some British-based items before they headed to California.

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

On top of this, consignments will need to be expensively signed off by accredited vets.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2023

The value of these consignments was over $1,000,000.

From Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX.?No. 24. [New Series.], December 14, 1878 A Weekly Journal Of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, And Manufactures by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• batch
• delivery
• goods
• shipment

---