Word.ws English Dictionary

consume

/kənˈsjuːm//kənˈsum/

consume verb: to use up.

Verb

consume (third-person singular simple present consumes, present participle consuming, simple past and past participle consumed)

  1. (transitive) To use up.
    • The power plant consumes 30 tons of coal per hour.
    Synonyms:
    burn, use, use up, expend
  2. (transitive) To eat.
    • Baby birds consume their own weight in food each day.
    • Concerns were raised around the ability of Milky Way species to consume proteins from Andromeda, so seed banks formed a significant part of the arks' cargo. We now know it is safe to consume food grown or hunted here, though enzyme supplements are recommended and have become a social norm at...2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Andromeda Wildlife: Overview Codex entry
    Synonyms:
    devour, eat, swallow
  3. (transitive) To completely occupy the thoughts or attention of.
    • Desire consumed him.
  4. (transitive) To destroy completely.
    • The building was consumed by fire.
    • If he were putting to my house the brand / That shall consume it.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To waste away slowly.
    • Therefore, let Benedick, like cover'd fire, / Consume away in sighs.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • But, sir, you see how weak I am. You must see that I have been consuming from day to day […].1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter CDXLI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn...
  6. (intransitive, transitive) To obtain and use goods 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.
  7. (transitive) To absorb information, especially through the mass media.
    • The Internet has changed the way we consume news.
    • And influencers are identifying the brands, music, and TV shows that Americans consume.2026 March 9, Cyrus Veyssi, “In Defense of Influencers”, in TIME, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2026

consume meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

consume in Hindi

1. use up
उपभुक्त upbhukt
2. eat
उपभोग करना upbhog karnā, खाना khānā

consume in Tamil

நுகர்

consume in Urdu

to consume, use
لگانا lagānā

consume in Bengali

to consume
খাওয়া khaōẇa
More languagesFewer languages
consume in Telugu
క్రోలు krōlu, తీసుకొను tīsukonu, సేవించు sēviñcu
consume in Malayalam
ദഹിപ്പിക്കുക, ചെലവാക്കുക, ഇല്ലാതാക്കുക, പാഴാക്കുക
consume in Kannada
ಬಳಸು, ನುಂಗು, ಹಾಳು ಮಾಡು, ಕಬಳಿಸು
consume in Sanskrit
अत्ति atti, खादति khādati
consume in Assamese
খা kha
consume in Persian
مصرف کردن, تمام وجود کسی را فرا گرفتن, نابود شدن
consume in Thai
อุปโภค ùp-bpà-pôok, ใช้ chái, บริโภค bɔɔ-rí-pôok, กิน gin
consume in Vietnamese
dùng, tiêu thụ, ăn, tàn phá

Examples of consume in a sentence

  • We like to drink skim milk instead so as to consume fewer calories.
  • We like to drink skimmed milk instead so as to consume fewer calories.
  • Last year this portion of the grid consumed more than a thousand megawatt-hours of electricity.

All 40 example sentences with consume

Synonyms of consume

7 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of consume

Forms of consume

third-person singular presentconsumes
present participleconsuming
past participleconsumed
pastconsumed

Past tense of consume: consumed

Origin of consume

From Middle English consumen, from Old French consumer, from Latin cōnsūmere, cōnsūmō, from con- (“with, together”) + sūmō (“take; consume”), from sub- + emō (“to buy, take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to take, distribute”), possibly related to the root *nem- (“to take or give one's due”).

Words formed from consume

Words that rhyme with consume

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about consume

What does consume mean?
Consume means to use up.
What is consume in Hindi?
Consume in Hindi is उपभुक्त (upbhukt), उपभोग करना (upbhog karnā), खाना (khānā). See Consume meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is consume?
Consume is a verb.
How do you pronounce consume?
Consume is pronounced /kənˈsjuːm/ (UK).
What is the past tense of consume?
The past tense of consume is consumed.

Words near consume in the dictionary

  1. consumably
  2. consumah
  3. consumahs
  4. consumate
  5. consumation
  6. consume
  7. consumed
  8. consumedly
  9. consumeless
  10. consumer
  11. consumer base

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: consume (page history and authors); consume (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); لگانا (Urdu) (page history and authors); খাওয়া (Bengali) (page history and authors); క్రోలు (Telugu) (page history and authors); consume (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); consume (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); খা (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-consume.ogg, en-us-consume.ogg.

Cite this entry: “consume.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/consume. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.