Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

consume

 - 3 dictionary results

con⋅sume

  [kuhn-soom] verb, -sumed, -sum⋅ing.
Use consume in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to destroy or expend by use; use up.
2. to eat or drink up; devour.
3. to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest.
4. to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.
5. to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity.
–verb (used without object)
6. to undergo destruction; waste away.
7. to use or use up consumer goods.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (< MF consumer) < L consūmere, equiv. to con- con- + sūmere to take up (perh. < *suzm- < *subzm- < *subs-(e)m-, equiv. to subs-, var. of sub- sub- + emere to take, buy)

Synonyms:
1. exhaust, deplete. 4. squander, dissipate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To consume
con·sume   (kən-sōōm')   
v.   con·sumed, con·sum·ing, con·sumes

v.   tr.

  1. To take in as food; eat or drink up. See Synonyms at eat.

    1. To expend; use up: engines that consume less fuel; a project that consumed most of my time and energy.

    2. To purchase (goods or services) for direct use or ownership.

  3. To waste; squander. See Synonyms at waste.

  4. To destroy totally; ravage: flames that consumed the house; a body consumed by cancer.

  5. To absorb; engross: consumed with jealousy. See Synonyms at monopolize.

v.   intr.

  1. To be destroyed, expended, or wasted.

  2. To purchase economic goods and services: a society that consumes as fast as it produces.


[Middle English consumen, from Latin cōnsūmere : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + sūmere, to take; see em- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

consume 
c.1380, from L. consumere "to use up, eat, waste," from com- intensive prefix + sumere "to take," from sub- "under" + emere "to buy, take" (see exempt). Economic sense of consumer (opposite of producer) first recorded 1746. Consumerism is from 1944 in the sense of "protection of the consumer's interest;" modern sense of "consumption as an economic policy" is from 1960.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see consume on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way