Consume: To Eat, to Use Up, and to Destroy
To consume is to eat or drink, to use up a resource, or to destroy completely. The same verb gives us consumer, consumption and the old name for tuberculosis.
Consume means to take in and use up. The darker sense is the original one: fire consumes a building, and the disease once called consumption was named because it seemed to eat the patient away.
- To eat or drink. *Consume within three days of opening.*
- To use up a resource. *The plant consumes vast amounts of water.*
- To destroy by fire. *Flames consumed the roof.*
- To occupy someone entirely. *He was consumed by jealousy.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | consume | Consume in moderation. |
| Person | consumer | Consumer rights. |
| Noun | consumption | Fuel consumption. |
| Adjective | consuming | A consuming interest. |
| Historical | consumptive | A consumptive patient. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Best consumed on the day of purchase.Label English — formal for eat.
- The engine consumes less fuel at steady speeds.Uses up.
- She was consumed with guilt.Entirely occupied by a feeling.
Why tuberculosis was called consumption
- The disease caused severe weight loss over months or years
- Patients appeared to be eaten away from within, hence consumed
- The name was standard in English until the late nineteenth century
- It faded once the bacterium was identified in 1882 and the modern name took over
- Consumptive, meaning a sufferer, survives only in historical writing
From Latin *consumere*, to use up entirely, from *com* (completely) and *sumere*, to take. The intensity is in the prefix: consuming is not taking, it is taking all of it.
Consume or eat?
Eat in ordinary speech. Consume is formal and appears on packaging, in nutrition writing and in economics.
Consumption or consuming?
Consumption is the noun for the amount used. Consuming is the adjective for something that occupies you totally.