Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for consume on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), con·sumed, con·sum·ing. to destroy or expend by use; use up. to eat or drink up; devour. to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest. to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully. to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity. Show More
verb (used without object), con·sumed, con·sum·ing. to undergo destruction; waste away. to use or use up consumer goods . Show More
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)
Related forms half-con·sumed , adjective o·ver·con·sume , verb, o·ver·con·sumed, o·ver·con·sum·ing. pre·con·sume , verb (used with object), pre·con·sumed, pre·con·sum·ing. un·con·sumed , adjective un·der·con·sume , verb (used with object), un·der·con·sumed, un·der·con·sum·ing. Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for consume exhaust ,
expend ,
dominate ,
absorb ,
preoccupy ,
drain ,
employ ,
devour ,
deplete ,
waste ,
spend ,
obsess ,
feed ,
inhale ,
ingest ,
guzzle ,
swallow ,
devastate ,
overwhelm ,
ruin Examples from the Web for consume Contemporary Examples of consume And as technology adapts to reflect the ways we consume media, so too is the family adapting to technology.
This is just the way we consume TV now: our favorite shows, whenever we want them, wherever we want them.
You consume a nutritionally unbalanced diet because of concerns about “food purity.”
This means supplying proteins and fats because our bodies tend to need to eat less frequently when we consume them.
She is equally desirous of Levine, as animalistic and eager to consume him while sticky with sanguine fluid.
Historical Examples of consume He sat up and began to consume his soup, scarce doing it justice.
You're liable to start a conflagration you can't stop, and that may consume yourself, is all.
It was not worth while to consume the time of the House about it.
It is not, of course, the root of the plant which we consume .
Every man would produce as little and consume as much as he liked.
British Dictionary definitions for consume (tr) to eat or drink (tr; often passive) to engross or obsess (tr) to use up; expend my car consumes little oil to destroy or be destroyed by burning, decomposition, etc fire consumed the forest (tr) to waste or squander the time consumed on that project was excessive (passive) to waste away Show More
Derived Forms consuming , adjective consumingly , 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
Word Origin and History for consume v. late 14c., from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste," from com- , intensive prefix (see com- ), + sumere "to take," from sub- "under" + emere "to buy, take" (see exempt (adj.)).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
