consume

/kənˈsum/verb

consume is spelled C-O-N-S-U-M-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, consume means “To use up” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in consume?

Letters	7: C-O-N-S-U-M-E
Syllables	2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing	7.6 times per million words; the 8,542nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched	none measured in search
Rhymes with	whom boom bloom tomb more

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is consume?

Consume appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form in the list.

consume0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce consume?

UK /kənˈsjuːm/
UK /kənˈʃuːm/
US /kənˈsum/

Consume has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-consume.ogg, En-us-consume.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with consume?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as consume from its last stressed vowel (/um/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of consume

consumes present, singular, he/she/it
consuming participle, present
consumed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does consume mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

1
To use up.
The power plant consumes 30 tons of coal per hour.
2
To eat.
Baby birds consume their own weight in food each day.
3
To completely occupy the thoughts or attention of.
Desire consumed him.
4
To destroy completely.
The building was consumed by fire.
5
obsoleteTo waste away slowly.
6
To obtain and use goods or services as an individual.
In a materialistic society, individuals are taught to consume, consume, consume.
7
To absorb information, especially through the mass media.
The Internet has changed the way we consume news.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Consume in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Language	Words
French	consommer (1. use up), consumer (4. destroy completely)
German	verbrauchen (1. use up), verzehren (2. eat), aufnehmen (7. absorb information)
Portuguese	consumir (1. use up)
Spanish	consumir (1. use up), desperecerse, consumirse (5. waste away)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.