Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - consume

(consumes, consuming, consumed) 1. If you consume something, you eat or drink it. (FORMAL) Many people experienced a drop in their cholesterol levels when they consumed oat bran. VERB: V n 2. To consume an amount of fuel, energy, or time means to use it up. Some of the most efficient refrigerators consume 70 percent less electricity than traditional models. VERB: V n 3. If a feeling or idea consumes you, it affects you very strongly indeed. The memories consumed him. VERB: V n 4. see also consumed, consuming