consign

American  

[kuhn-sahyn] / kənˈsaɪn /

verb (used with object)

1. to hand over or deliver formally or officially; commit (often followed byto ).

   Synonyms:

   assign, relegate

2. to transfer to another's custody or charge; entrust.

   Synonyms:

   confide

3. to set apart for or devote to (a special purpose or use).

   to consign two afternoons a week to the club.

4. to banish or set apart in one's mind; relegate.

   to consign unpleasant thoughts to oblivion.

5. Commerce.

   1. to ship, as by common carrier, especially for sale or custody.

   2. to address for such shipment.

6. Obsolete. to confirm or ratify, as with a seal or other token.

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verb (used without object)

1. to agree or assent.

2. Obsolete. to yield or submit.

consign British  

/ kənˈsaɪn /

verb

1. to hand over or give into the care or charge of another; entrust

2. to commit irrevocably

   he consigned the papers to the flames

3. to commit for admittance

   to consign someone to jail

4. to address or deliver (goods) for sale, disposal, etc

   it was consigned to his London address

5. obsolete (intr) to assent; agree

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Other Word Forms

• consignable adjective
• consignation noun
• preconsign verb (used with object)
• reconsign verb (used with object)
• unconsignable adjective
• unconsigned adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Never mind the state’s environmental laws that consign building projects to purgatory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Austria are three points better off than Scotland and another loss for Scotland would consign them to relegation from the top tier.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2025

The men alleged that they agreed to consign the model to Heritage for a planned auction sale after the house gave it a value of $800,000.

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

“We are turning our backs upon the fairest dream of civilization and are about to consign it to the dust,” Barrows read.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• assign
• relegate
• turn over