consumption

American  

[kuhn-suhmp-shuhn] / kənˈsʌmp ʃən /

noun

consumptions plural

1. the act of consuming, as by use, decay, or destruction.

   Synonyms:

   utilization, exploitation, depletion

2. the amount consumed.

   the high consumption of gasoline.

3. Economics. the using up of goods and services having an exchangeable value.

4. Pathology.

   1. Older Use. tuberculosis of the lungs.

   2. progressive wasting of the body.

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consumption British  

/ kənˈsʌmpʃən /

noun

1. the act of consuming or the state of being consumed, esp by eating, burning, etc

2. economics expenditure on goods and services for final personal use

3. the quantity consumed

4. pathol a condition characterized by a wasting away of the tissues of the body, esp as seen in tuberculosis of the lungs

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconsumption
  noun
• overconsumption
  noun
• preconsumption
  noun
• self-consumption
  noun
• underconsumption
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consumptions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of consumption

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English consumpcyon, from Middle French, from Latin consūmptiōn-, stem of consūmptiō “employment, use, waste,” from consūmpt(us) “used up” (past participle of consūmere “to use up, waste”; see consume) + -iō -ion

Explanation

Consumption means using, buying or eating something. If we don't reduce our energy consumption, we will run out of fuel. Conspicuous consumption is buying something to show off. Consumption is related to the verb consume, which means to eat, use, or buy. You will often read about consumption in terms of rate––how fast we are using up a particular resource. If you consume ten cookies in an hour, your rate of consumption is ten cookies an hour. Sustainable? Let's hope not.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

consumption consumptions

She highlighted how "corrosive" inflation can be, affecting lower-income households much harder than those with higher incomes, whose consumption has remained robust despite the surging inflation.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Indonesia’s B50 biodiesel mandate is also expected to support prices by boosting domestic consumption, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

However, she added that making it the default option "risks locking in higher energy consumption" and that the priority should be designing homes that "remain comfortable for as much of the year as possible".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Where a grid has spare capacity and the customer is locked into paying for what it reserved, fixed costs can be spread across more consumption, holding rates down.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Yet the chemicals they contained are among those the Food and Drug Administration considers too dangerous for human consumption, even in minute quantities.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Cutting meat consumptions — particularly red meat, particularly in high-income countries — represents an opportunity to lower methane emissions.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2024

Because of Covid-19 and the sanctions, this trade was stopped - and his relatives had to sell for domestic consumptions for a much lower return, making it "hard to survive".

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2024

Religious celebrations — what with sacred slaughters, a stress on all things kosher, ritualized consumptions — are a particular point of tension for Jews who eat vegan.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2021

Each individual has to pay for their own consumptions choices.

From Forbes ● Apr. 5, 2015

The coal consumptions have been reduced 16.7 per cent. in the last ten years and 27.9 per cent. in the last nineteen.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 821, September 26, 1891 by Various

Related Words

• drinking
• expenditure
• utilization