Dictionary

consume

Pronunciation

Verb

consume (consumes, present participle consuming; past and past participle consumed)

(transitive) To use up.
The power plant consumes 30 tons of coal per hour.
(transitive) To eat.
Baby birds consume their own weight in food each day.
(transitive) To completely occupy the thoughts or attention of.
Desire consumed him.
(transitive) To destroy completely.
The building was consumed by fire.
- c. 1608–1609, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene vi]:
  If he were putting to my house the brand / That shall consume it.
- Bible, Matthew vi. 20
  Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume.
(intransitive, obsolete) To waste away slowly.
- RQ
- 1899, Kate Chopin, The Awakening:
  He assured her the child was consuming at that moment in the next room.
(economics, transitive, intransitive) To trade money for good or services as an individual.
In a materialistic society, individuals are taught to consume, consume, consume.
If you consume this product while in Japan, you may be subject to consumption tax.
(transitive) To absorb information, especially through the mass media.
The Internet has changed the way we consume news.

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Related terms

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