consumption
/kənˈsʌm(p)ʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1The action of using up a resource: industrialized countries should reduce their energy consumption...
- Newcastle then moved quickly to become more accountable for its own operations in terms of energy and resource consumption.
- We can start by reducing our energy consumption and turning to renewable resources.
- It is clear, then, that entrepreneurs have strong incentives to manage their residuals efficiently and gradually to reduce their consumption of resources for any given output.
Synonyms
using up, use, utilization, expending, expenditure;
depletion, exhaustion;
waste, wasting, squander, squandering, draining, dissipation, dissipating
1.1The action of eating or drinking something: liquor is sold for consumption off the premises...
- The coffee shop, which has been open in Blackheath since 2001, has never received planning permission to sell food for consumption on the premises.
- No liquor shall be sold or supplied for consumption away from the premises in containers larger than two litres.
- Increased consumption of such drinks and foods brings up the question of whether or not people are exercising enough to burn all the excess fat and energy their bodies are taking in.
Synonyms
eating, devouring, ingestion, swallowing, gobbling (up);
drinking, imbibing
formal manducation
1.2 [in singular] An amount of something which is used up or ingested: a daily consumption of 15 cigarettes...
- The consumption of large amounts of refined starches can lead to increases in blood-sugar levels.
- There are 18.2 days of diesel fuel reserves with a daily consumption of 72,000 KL a day.
- The castor beans are highly toxic and death is likely with the consumption of even a small amount.
1.3The purchase of goods and services by the public: industry faced a serious challenge in trying to stimulate consumption...
- Many futurists believe that the desire of retirees to protect their wealth will increase their consumption of financial services.
- Household spending, public consumption and investment have all grown strongly and the housing market remains buoyant.
- Mass consumption, stimulative consumer policies, and revolutions in wholesaling and retailing led to the convergence of regional economies.
1.4The reception of information or entertainment by a mass audience: his confidential speech was not meant for public consumption...
- The reader, viewer or audience is actively involved in the construction of the work of art, and without the act of reception / consumption, the cultural product is incomplete.
- But now there are two new primary tasks - communication (via email) and information consumption.
- On the other hand, there is, I think, an impact on how people view the world politically which they take from their entertainment consumption.
2 dated A wasting disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis: his mother had died of consumption...
- During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, consumption was considered incurable by most people, patients and physicians alike.
- In the 19th century, it seemed as if everyone was slowly dying of consumption.
- They were so undernourished that they easily became ill from consumption, fevers, pestilence, and a variety of other disorders.
Synonyms
tuberculosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, TB, wasting disease, emaciation
archaic phthisis
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin consumptio(n-), from the verb consumere (see consume).