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

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Etymology

Origin of consignment

First recorded in 1555–65; consign + -ment

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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

Although consignment shops and charities like Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity’s Restore shops often accept furniture donations, they typically only want clean, unbroken and new or gently used pieces that they can sell.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

In July, 25 boats and 25 engines were seized in a maritime consignment at Felixstowe in Suffolk.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

John gets a job as a fry cook at a restaurant called Shrimp Castle; Helen, who used to be a saleswoman at luxury shops, works on consignment for a home-goods store in an outdoor mall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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

Uncle Cor helps by taking more than twenty of Vincent’s drawings on consignment.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

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 UN denies his allegations, arguing that its consignments are bar-coded and traceable.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025

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

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2024

Consequently, it has been customary to allow all letters accompanying consignments of goods to be delivered with the goods, without asking whether they relate to the goods or not.

From The History of the Post Office in British North America by Sir William Smith

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Related Words

• batch
• delivery
• goods
• shipment

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