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consume

[ kuhn-soom ]
/ kənˈsum /
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See synonyms for: consume / consumed / consuming on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), con·sumed, con·sum·ing.
verb (used without object), con·sumed, con·sum·ing.
to undergo destruction; waste away.
to use or use up consumer goods.
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Origin of consume

1350–1400; Middle English (<Middle French consumer) <Latin consūmere, equivalent to con-con- + sūmere to take up (perhaps <*suzm-<*subzm-<*subs-(e)m-, equivalent to subs-, variant of sub-sub- + emere to take, buy)

OTHER WORDS FROM consume

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use consume in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for consume

consume
/ (kənˈsjuːm) /

verb
(tr) to eat or drink
(tr; often passive) to engross or obsess
(tr) to use up; expendmy car consumes little oil
to destroy or be destroyed by burning, decomposition, etcfire consumed the forest
(tr) to waste or squanderthe time consumed on that project was excessive
(passive) to waste away

Derived forms of consume

consuming, adjectiveconsumingly, adverb

Word Origin for consume

C14: from Latin consūmere to devour, from com- (intensive) + sūmere to take up, from emere to take, purchase
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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