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consignment

[kuh n-sahyn-muh nt]
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noun
  1. the act of consigning.
  2. something that is consigned.
  3. Commerce. property sent to an agent for sale, storage, or shipment.
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or shipped as goods on consignment: consignment selling of gift items.
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Idioms
  1. on consignment, (of goods) sent to an agent for sale, with title being held by the consignor until a sale is made.
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Origin of consignment

First recorded in 1555–65; consign + -ment
Related formsnon·con·sign·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for on consignment

consignment

noun
  1. the act of consigning; commitment
  2. a shipment of goods consigned
  3. on consignment for payment by the consignee after salehe made the last shipment on consignment
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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 on consignment

consignment

n.

1560s, "sealing with a sign," from consign + -ment. Meaning "delivering over" is from 1660s; especially of goods, for the sake of sale or auction, from c.1700. Meaning "quantity of goods so assigned" is recorded from 1720s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with on consignment

on consignment

Turning over goods for an agent to sell, with the provision that payment is made only on completed sales and that unsold goods may be returned to the consignor. For example, This secondhand shop accepts items of clothing on consignment. [c. 1700]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.