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

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

Rejected by publishers after his release, he paid to have books printed in China and gave copies to street vendors near Harlem’s 125th street station to sell on consignment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

The government has previously said it cancelled the consignment amid concerns over its quality and cost and barred oil marketers from selling it.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

It began after the NCA received intelligence about a suspicious consignment of tyre inner tubes being shipped to Italy in March 2025.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

There are consignment forms from galleries, a proposal from a museum about a commission.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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'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

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

From BBC ● May 14, 2024

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

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2023

On the other hand, it could not have been used when the first consignments were being printed, probably early in 1868, or the ½ cent would be included in the series.

From Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery by Howes, Clifton Armstrong

Related Words

• batch
• delivery
• goods
• shipment