- (transitive)
to eat or drink - (tr; often passive)
to engross or obsess - (transitive)
to use up; expend - (transitive)
to watch or read (information that has been broadcast or published) to destroy or be destroyed by burning, decomposition, etc: fire consumed the forest - (transitive)
to waste or squander - (passive)
to waste away
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
con•sume /kənˈsum/USA pronunciation
v., -sumed, -sum•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to use up;
expend:[~ + object]The minivan consumes a lot of gas. - to eat or drink up;
devour:[~ + object]consumed several six-packs of beer. - [~ + object] to destroy, as by burning: Fire consumed the forest.
- [~ + object] to keep the interest of;
engross: I was consumed with curiosity. - to use or use up consumer goods:[no object]If consumers don't consume, then workers won't work.
con•sume
(kən so̅o̅m′),USA pronunciation v., -sumed, -sum•ing.
v.t.
v.i.
v.t.
- to destroy or expend by use;
use up. - to eat or drink up;
devour. - to destroy, as by decomposition or burning:Fire consumed the forest.
- to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.
- to absorb;
engross:consumed with curiosity.
v.i.
- to undergo destruction;
waste away. - to use or use up consumer goods.
- *subs-(e)m-, equivalent. to subs-, variant of sub- sub- + emere to take, buy)
- *subzm-
- *suzm-
- Latin consūmere, equivalent. to con- con- + sūmere to take up (perh.
- Middle French consumer)
- Middle English (1350–1400
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged exhaust, deplete.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged squander, dissipate.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'consumed' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Java
- alcohol-free
- all
- beer bust
- biological value
- bite-size
- booster
- borscht circuit
- breath test
- breed
- breeder
- breeding
- bulimia
- burn
- burned-out
- burning bush
- burnup
- butt
- cannabis
- carbon cycle
- check
- consumable
- consume
- consumedly
- consumption
- drunkathon
- durable goods
- duty
- expendable
- fill
- finger
- fuel-efficient
- full
- gas meter
- go
- gone
- goods
- half-consumed
- holocaust
- inconsumable
- kill
- lance
- law of diminishing marginal utility
- odd
- of
- off limits
- package store
- peak
- quickie
- ratepayer