con ‧ sume AC /kənˈsjuːm $ -ˈsuːm/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ consumption , ↑ consumer ; verb : ↑ consume ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: consumer , from Latin consumere , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + sumere 'to take up, take' ]
1 . to use time, energy, goods etc ⇨ consumption :
Only 27% of the paper we consume is recycled.
A smaller vehicle will consume less fuel.
2 . formal to eat or drink something ⇨ consumer , consumption :
Alcohol may not be consumed on the premises.
3 . literary if a feeling or idea consumes you, it affects you very strongly, so that you cannot think about anything else:
She was scared by the depression which threatened to consume her.
be consumed with something
He was consumed with guilt after the accident.
4 . formal if fire consumes something, it destroys it completely
⇨ ↑ time-consuming
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ eat to put food in your mouth and chew and swallow it:
Experts recommend eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.
▪ have to eat a particular food:
‘What do you usually have for breakfast?’ ‘I usually just have coffee and toast.’
|
We had the set meal.
▪ feed on something to eat a particular kind of food – used when talking about animals:
Foxes feed on a wide range of foods including mice, birds, insects, and fruit.
▪ consume written to eat or drink something – used especially in scientific or technical contexts:
Babies consume large amounts relative to their body weight.
▪ munch (on) something to eat something with big continuous movements of your mouth, especially when you are enjoying your food:
He was munching on an apple.
|
They were sitting on a bench munching their sandwiches.
▪ nibble (on) something to eat something by biting off very small pieces:
If you want a healthy snack, why not just nibble on a carrot?
▪ pick at something to eat only a small amount of your food because you are not hungry or do not like the food:
Lisa was so upset that she could only pick at her food.
▪ stuff/gorge yourself to eat so much food that you cannot eat anything else:
He’s always stuffing himself with cakes.
|
We gorged ourselves on my mother’s delicious apple tart.
▪ slurp to eat soup, ↑ noodle s etc with a noisy sucking sound:
In England it’s considered rude to slurp your soup, but in some countries it’s seen as a sign of enjoyment.