Dictionary.com

consumer

[ kuhn-soo-mer ]
/ kənˈsu mər /
See synonyms for: consumer / consumers on Thesaurus.com

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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Origin of consumer

1375–1425 for earlier sense “squanderer,” 1525–35 for current senses; Middle English; see consume, -er1

OTHER WORDS FROM consumer

con·sum·er·ship, nounan·ti·con·sum·er, noun, adjectivenon·con·sum·er, adjective, nounpre·con·sum·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to consumer

customer, buyer, user, shopper, purchaser, enjoyer, end user

Example sentences from the Web for consumer

  • Without Mr. Flack, at the cafes, he felt too much a non-consumer.

    The Reverberator|Henry James

  • And there it reproached its maker and its non-consumer in the morning.

    It Never Can Happen Again|William De Morgan

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

consumer

Someone who purchases a good for personal use.

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.