consumer
[ kuhn-soo-mer ]
/ kənˈsu mər /
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noun
a person or thing that consumes.
Economics. a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.
Ecology. an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.
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Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of consumer
OTHER WORDS FROM consumer
con·sum·er·ship, nounan·ti·con·sum·er, noun, adjectivenon·con·sum·er, adjective, nounpre·con·sum·er, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use consumer in a sentence
And there it reproached its maker and its non-consumer in the morning.
It Never Can Happen Again|William De MorganWithout Mr. Flack, at the cafes, he felt too much a non-consumer.
The Reverberator|Henry James
British Dictionary definitions for consumer
consumer
/ (kənˈsjuːmə) /
noun
a person who acquires goods and services for his or her own personal needsCompare producer (def. 6)
a person or thing that consumes
(usually plural) ecology an organism, esp an animal, within a community that feeds upon plants or other animalsSee also decomposer, producer (def. 8)
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
Scientific definitions for consumer
consumer
[ kən-sōō′mər ]
A heterotrophic organism that feeds on other organisms in a food chain.♦ Herbivores that feed on green plants and detritivores that feed on decaying matter are called primary consumers. Carnivores that feed on herbivores or detritivores are called secondary consumers, while those that feed on other carnivores are called tertiary consumers. Compare producer.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for consumer
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.