consign
Americanverb (used with object)
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consigns,
present (3rd person singular)
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consigned,
past participle, past
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consigning
present participle
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to hand over or deliver formally or officially; commit (often followed byto ).
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to transfer to another's custody or charge; entrust.
- Synonyms:
- confide
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to set apart for or devote to (a special purpose or use).
to consign two afternoons a week to the club.
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to banish or set apart in one's mind; relegate.
to consign unpleasant thoughts to oblivion.
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Commerce.
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to ship, as by common carrier, especially for sale or custody.
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to address for such shipment.
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Obsolete. to confirm or ratify, as with a seal or other token.
verb (used without object)
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consigns,
present (3rd person singular)
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consigned,
past participle, past
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consigning
present participle
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to agree or assent.
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Obsolete. to yield or submit.
verb
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to hand over or give into the care or charge of another; entrust
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to commit irrevocably
he consigned the papers to the flames
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to commit for admittance
to consign someone to jail
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to address or deliver (goods) for sale, disposal, etc
it was consigned to his London address
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obsolete (intr) to assent; agree
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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consignationnoun
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preconsignverb (used with object)
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reconsignverb (used with object)
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consignableadjective
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unconsignableadjective
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unconsignedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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consignsimple
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consignssimple
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have consignedperfect
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has consignedperfect
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am consigningprogressive
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are consigningprogressive
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is consigningprogressive
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have been consigningperfect progressive
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has been consigningperfect progressive
Past
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consignedsimple
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had consignedperfect
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was consigningprogressive
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were consigningprogressive
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had been consigningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consign
1400–50; late Middle English; apparently (< Middle French consigner ) < Medieval Latin consignāre to mark with sign of cross, Latin: to mark with a seal. See con-, sign
Explanation
The verb consign means to transfer permanently to another. You can consign ownership of your old car to your son, an act that will probably make you the "best parent ever" in his eyes. Consign means to commit or relegate. Those platform shoes you still have from high school in the 1970s? You should probably consign them to the trash — of course, they probably should have been consigned in the 1970s! Consign can also be used if you turn over an object for sale where the business making the sale gets a percentage of the profits and so do you. If you don't like the art work you inherited, you might consign it with an auction house and use the profits to buy something you like better.
Vocabulary lists containing consign
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Grade 11, List 4
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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:
U.S. automakers have been eager to consign AM radio to the history books.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Defeat on Sunday would consign Rangers to their first third-placed finish since 2018.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
In March of last year, eight months after Schneider had already agreed to consign his witch’s hat to Heritage, Shaw announced that he planned to sell the slippers at auction through Heritage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2025
This isn’t to consign Richman to pop’s deep bin of one-hit wonders.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
A three-mile comet!—it was exactly the sort of extravagant notion that the whitecoats sought to consign to the historical dustbin.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Instead the two become friends, and Cora consigns the fling to the realm of her imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
It consigns out-of-form Fakhar Zaman to the bench at least in the short term, while also adding strength to the batting lineup that is so dependent on Babar and Mohammed Rizwan.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
It consigns out-of-form Fakhar Zaman to the bench at least in the short term, while also adding strength to the batting lineup that is so dependent on captain Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
"We will not give up... the alternative consigns us to a watery grave," Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2022
Troilus learns of this, consigns her to oblivion, and attempts, but unsuccessfully, to take revenge on Diomed.
From An Introduction to Shakespeare by H. N. MacCracken
They got it thanks to a 0-0 result of composure and organisation that consigned Italy to the play-offs and took England back to the World Cup having missed USA '94.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Zverev insists he has consigned those previous experiences to the past.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
“Yet here is this singular brilliance, consigned to a small span of years. He places the two side by side in the scales.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
When she was consigned to a sale in the summer of 2021, he bought her with Hidden Brook for $135,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Gregory the jailer and those who were consigned to his domain did not laugh or smile or clink glasses with the person sitting next to them.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
He knew the future life he dreamed of was now impossible, and it seems he couldn’t face the to which the U.S. government was consigning him.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
Protecting them by consigning them to an inevitable death sentence?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
After he posted a photo of the jacket online, Brown was contacted by Sotheby’s about consigning it for auction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
The landscape is particularly difficult for first-time buyers, consigning many to the used car market, Drury said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
I believe that justice demands that you reject the testimony of these men, consigning their stories to the area of deep doubt.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
