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.

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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

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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

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

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

When Ed’s health began to fade in 2023, his son, Bryan, arranged with a Keizer, Ore., store called Bricks & Minifigs—the local franchise of a nationwide chain of Lego resellers—to sell the collection on consignment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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

One afternoon while McCandless was tending the book table at the Niland swap meet, somebody left a portable electric organ with Burres to sell on consignment.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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

"We were supposed to deliver the consignments to our clients today. All burnt to ashes, I guess," said importer Anand Kumar Ghosh, who said he had lost 52 consignments.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2025

Shipments worth less than £135 sent directly to UK shoppers do not currently face import duties, but firms bringing in larger consignments do.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024

"The situation could worsen if the EU, which regularly rejects Indian spice consignments over quality issues, follows suits."

From BBC ● May 14, 2024

These are rarely sent West, early consignments of them having stirred up a good deal of trouble there.

From The Children of the Poor by Jacob A. (Jacob August) Riis

Related Words

• batch
• delivery
• goods
• shipment