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

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

But the new owners said they had no knowledge about his collection or the consignment agreement.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 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

Italian officials said there was no sign that the fuel used to power the tanker had leaked, but they were unable to comment on the fate of the gas consignment.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

Part of Zach’s job was going around to deliver fresh supplies of honey and candles to places that sold them on consignment.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

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 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

According to Le Parisien newspaper the consignments consisted of bottles of Moët & Chandon, one of the most renowned brands of champagne.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2023

There was an attempt to cover two of the consignments of this ship, in favor of French citizens, but the “hash” being evidently Yankee, the certificates were disregarded.

From Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States by Raphael Semmes

Related Words

• batch
• delivery
• goods
• shipment