consume

consume
consume con‧sume [kənˈsjuːm ǁ -ˈsuːm] verb
1. [intransitive, transitive] to buy and use goods, services, energy, or natural materials:

• Never underestimate the power of the American citizen to consume.

• The UK and France consume more gas than Italy, mainly because of their colder climates.

2. [transitive] to use money or time that could be used for something else:

• Expenses consume less than 16 cents of every revenue dollar at Wal-Mart.

• Lawsuits consume time and hurt a company's image.

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consume UK US /kənˈsjuːm/ US  /kənˈsuːm/ verb [T]
to use something such as fuel, energy, money, or time, especially in large quantities: »

It's a province of China which consumes 180,000 tons of coal a year.

»

This device will monitor how much energy your household appliances are consuming at any time.

»

Meetings routinely consume at least 20 hours of his time a week.

See also TIME-CONSUMING(Cf. ↑time-consuming)
to buy goods or services: »

The shift toward an increasingly cashless society has changed the way we consume goods.


Financial and business terms. 2012.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • consumé — consumé, ée (kon su mé, mée) part. passé. 1°   Détruit peu à peu. •   Ces restes d un héros par le feu consumé, CORN. Pomp. V, 1. •   Consumé par les vers, RAC. Athal. III, 5. •   J attendais que le temple en cendres consumé, RAC. ib. V …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Consume — Con*sume (k[o^]n*s[=u]m ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Consumed} (k[o^]n*s[=u]md ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Consuming}.] [L. consumere to take wholly or completely, to consume; con + sumere to take; sub + emere to buy. See {Redeem}.] To destroy, as by… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • consume — [v1] use up absorb, apply, avail oneself of, deplete, devour, dissipate, dominate, drain, drivel, eat up, employ, engross, exhaust, expend, finish, finish up, fritter away, frivol away, go, go through, have recourse to, lavish, lessen, monopolize …   New thesaurus

  • Consume — Con*sume (k[o^]n*s[=u]m ), v. i. To waste away slowly. [1913 Webster] Therefore, let Benedick, like covered fire, Consume away in sighs. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • consume — late 14c., from O.Fr. consumer to consume (12c.) and directly from L. consumere to use up, eat, waste, from com , intensive prefix (see COM (Cf. com )), + sumere to take, from sub under + emere to buy, take (see EXEMPT (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • consume — I verb absumere, annihilate, burn up, consumere, demolish, destroy, devour, disappear, drain, dwindle, eat, empty, eradicate, evaporate, exhaust, expend, spend, squander, swallow, use up, utilize, waste, wear away, wear out II index burn, decay …   Law dictionary

  • consume — ● consume nom féminin Perte de vin ou d alcool causée par l évaporation à travers les parois des tonneaux …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • consume — 1 *waste, squander, dissipate, fritter Analogous words: exhaust, *deplete, drain: dispel, disperse, *scatter Contrasted words: *save, preserve, conserve 2 *eat, swallow, fngest, devour …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • consumé — Consumé, [consum]ée. part. pass. Il a les significations de son verbe …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • consume — ► VERB 1) eat or drink. 2) use up. 3) (especially of a fire) completely destroy. 4) (of a feeling) absorb all of the attention and energy of. DERIVATIVES consuming adjective. ORIGIN Latin consumere, from sumere take …   English terms dictionary

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