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C1 noun #2,000 よく出る 12分で読める

consume

At the A1 level, the word 'consume' is a bit difficult, but it basically means 'to eat' or 'to drink'. When you are hungry, you eat food. When you are thirsty, you drink water. In formal English, we can use the word 'consume' instead of eat or drink. For example, if a doctor tells you to drink a lot of water, they might say 'consume a lot of water'. It is a big word for a simple action. Imagine you have an apple. When you eat the apple, you consume it. When the apple is gone, you have consumed it. We also use it for things that machines use. A car needs gas to drive. The car uses the gas. We can say the car consumes gas. If you leave the lights on in your house, the lights use electricity. The lights consume electricity. So, 'consume' means to use something up until it is gone. It is important to know this word because you will see it on food packages or hear it on the news. But when you talk to your friends, it is better to say 'eat' or 'drink'. Do not say 'I want to consume a pizza' to your friend. Say 'I want to eat a pizza'. Remember, consume means to use, eat, or drink something completely.
At the A2 level, you can understand 'consume' in a few more ways. You already know it means to eat or drink. For example, 'People should consume fresh vegetables every day for good health.' But it also means to use things like energy, time, or money. When you buy things at the store, you are a consumer, and you consume products. If you play video games all day, the game consumes your time. This means it uses all your time, and you have no time left for homework. Think about your mobile phone. When you watch videos, your phone uses the battery. You can say, 'Watching videos consumes a lot of battery.' When the battery is at zero, it is because the phone consumed all the power. We also use it for fire. If a house catches on fire, the fire eats the house. In English, we say 'The fire consumed the house.' This means the fire destroyed it completely. So, consume is a very strong word for using something up. You will hear this word when people talk about the environment. They might say, 'We consume too much plastic.' This means we use too much plastic and throw it away. Learning to use 'consume' helps you talk about shopping, health, and saving energy.
At the B1 level, your understanding of 'consume' expands into broader societal and environmental topics. You know it means to eat, drink, or use up resources. Now, you will often see it in texts about the environment and the economy. For example, 'Industrialized nations consume a vast majority of the world's fossil fuels.' Here, consume means to use up a natural resource. It highlights the problem of using things faster than they can be replaced. In business, we talk about 'consumer goods'—things people buy and use. To consume in this sense means to participate in the economy by buying and using products. Another very common use at this level is related to media and information. We don't just consume food; we 'consume media'. When you read news articles, watch YouTube videos, or scroll through Instagram, you are consuming content. It means you are taking in information. You might say, 'Teenagers today consume hours of digital content every day.' You also need to understand the passive voice with emotions. If someone is 'consumed by anger', it means the anger is so strong that it takes over their whole mind. They cannot think about anything else. So, 'consume' is not just physical; it is economic, digital, and emotional.
At the B2 level, 'consume' is a key vocabulary word for academic and professional communication. You are expected to use it accurately to describe complex processes. You understand that it means to utilize resources, ingest food, or absorb information. At this level, you should focus on the nuances and collocations. For instance, we often use adverbs with consume: 'rapidly consume', 'voraciously consume', or 'completely consume'. In environmental essays, you might write, 'The rapid population growth has led to a situation where we are consuming natural resources at an unsustainable rate.' In discussions about psychology or literature, the metaphorical use becomes very important. A character in a book might be 'consumed with guilt' or 'consumed by ambition'. This means the feeling dominates their existence. You should also be comfortable with the noun forms, 'consumption' and 'consumer', and use them interchangeably in your writing to show lexical variety. Furthermore, understand the difference between 'consume' and synonyms like 'deplete' or 'exhaust'. While you consume a resource (the action), the result is that the resource is depleted (the state). Using 'consume' correctly elevates your English, making it sound more objective, analytical, and sophisticated, which is essential for passing B2 level exams and writing formal reports.
At the C1 level, your mastery of 'consume' must be precise and highly contextualized. You are dealing with advanced academic, economic, and literary texts where 'consume' carries significant weight. In economic theory, consumption is a macroeconomic indicator; to consume is the engine of capitalist societies. You might encounter sentences like, 'The prevailing economic model relies on the populace to continuously consume manufactured goods to drive GDP growth.' In ecological discourse, 'consume' is intrinsically linked to sustainability and the Anthropocene, often highlighting the destructive nature of human resource extraction. Beyond the physical and economic, the abstract and literary applications are crucial. When a fire 'consumes' a building, it implies absolute eradication. When a person is 'consumed by a desire', it suggests a pathological obsession that overrides rational thought. You must also be adept at using 'consume' in discussions of modern digital habits, such as 'the algorithmic feed is designed to ensure users passively consume infinite streams of data.' At this level, you should never confuse 'consume' with 'resume' or 'assume', and you should intuitively know when 'consume' is too formal for a given context (e.g., avoiding 'I consumed a burger' in casual speech). Your use of the word should reflect a deep understanding of its transitivity and its role in sophisticated, nuanced arguments.
At the C2 level, 'consume' is a tool for nuanced, eloquent, and highly sophisticated expression. You understand its etymological roots (Latin *consumere*: to take up completely) and how this underlying concept of 'totality' informs all its modern usages. You can deploy it in complex literary analysis, such as discussing how a protagonist's hubris ultimately consumes them, drawing parallels between internal psychological destruction and external physical devastation. In advanced academic writing, you use it to synthesize complex ideas, such as 'The modern attention economy is predicated on the relentless commodification of human focus, requiring individuals to consume ephemeral content at the expense of deep cognitive engagement.' You are sensitive to the subtle stylistic differences between 'consume', 'devour', 'ingest', and 'assimilate', choosing the exact word to match the precise rhetorical tone required. You recognize idiomatic and poetic structures, such as 'a consuming passion' (used as an adjective) or 'time is a consuming fire'. At this level of proficiency, you manipulate the word effortlessly across various registers, from dense macroeconomic policy papers detailing energy consumption metrics to evocative creative writing where elements of nature consume the landscape. Your usage is flawless, reflecting a native-like intuition for the word's profound implications regarding use, destruction, and absorption.
練習する 例文 メモとヒント

consume 30秒で

  • To eat or drink something.
  • To use up a resource like energy or time.
  • To buy and use goods in an economy.
  • To be completely overwhelmed by a strong emotion.
The word 'consume' is a versatile and widely used term in the English language, primarily functioning as a verb, though occasionally referenced in discussions of noun forms like 'consumption'. To truly understand what it means to consume, we must explore its various dimensions, ranging from the literal ingestion of sustenance to the metaphorical absorption of information and the economic utilization of resources. At its core, to consume means to use up, devour, or completely destroy something, leaving little to nothing behind. When we talk about consuming food or drink, we are referring to the biological process of eating and drinking to sustain life. However, in modern contexts, the word has expanded far beyond the dining table. We live in a consumer society where individuals constantly consume products, services, and media. This means purchasing, using, and eventually discarding goods. Furthermore, abstract concepts such as time, energy, and attention can also be consumed. For instance, a demanding job might consume all of your free time, or a fascinating book might consume your attention for hours on end.
Literal Consumption
The physical act of eating, drinking, or ingesting substances for nourishment or pleasure.

The athlete needs to consume a large amount of protein to build muscle mass.

Beyond the physical, 'consume' frequently appears in environmental and economic discussions. Here, it refers to the depletion of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, water, and timber. A country or a factory might consume vast quantities of electricity to power its operations.
Resource Utilization
The process of using up natural or man-made resources, often implying a reduction in the available supply.

Older appliances tend to consume significantly more electricity than modern, energy-efficient models.

In the digital age, the concept of consuming media has become incredibly prominent. We consume news, podcasts, videos, and social media content. This usage highlights the intake of information and entertainment, processing it mentally rather than physically.

Teenagers today consume most of their news through short-form videos on social media platforms.

Another powerful metaphorical use of 'consume' relates to emotions and thoughts. When a feeling consumes you, it takes over your entire being, making it difficult to focus on anything else. Guilt, jealousy, passion, and rage are often described as consuming emotions.
Emotional Overwhelm
When an emotion or thought process completely dominates a person's mind and actions.

After the accident, he was entirely consumed by guilt and could not sleep for days.

Finally, in a more destructive sense, fire or disease can consume a building or a body, meaning to destroy it completely. This highlights the absolute and irreversible nature of the action.

The raging wildfire threatened to consume the entire forest within a matter of hours.

Understanding these diverse applications is crucial for mastering the word. Whether you are discussing diet, economics, digital habits, intense emotions, or natural disasters, 'consume' provides a powerful way to articulate the act of using up, taking in, or destroying.
Using the word 'consume' correctly requires an understanding of its transitivity, collocations, and the specific contexts in which it thrives. As a transitive verb, 'consume' almost always requires a direct object. You cannot simply 'consume'; you must consume *something*. This something can be tangible, like food, water, or fuel, or intangible, like time, energy, or media. The grammatical structure is typically Subject + Consume + Object. For example, 'The car consumes fuel.' In academic and formal writing, 'consume' is highly favored over simpler verbs like 'eat', 'use', or 'spend'. It elevates the register of the text, making it sound more objective and analytical.
Active Voice Usage
The subject performs the action of consuming the object. This is the most direct and common way to use the verb.

The average household will consume about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

The passive voice is also extremely common, particularly in scientific, economic, and environmental contexts where the focus is on the resource being used rather than who or what is using it. The structure is Object + be + consumed (+ by Subject).
Passive Voice Usage
Focuses on the resource or item that is being used up, rather than the entity performing the action.

Vast amounts of data are consumed daily by artificial intelligence training models.

When dealing with emotions, 'consume' is frequently used in the passive voice with the preposition 'by' or 'with'. If you are 'consumed by' jealousy or 'consumed with' curiosity, the emotion is acting upon you, overwhelming your senses.

She was completely consumed by grief following the sudden loss of her beloved pet.

Collocations with Adverbs
Adverbs like 'rapidly', 'eagerly', 'completely', and 'voraciously' frequently modify 'consume' to indicate the speed or intensity of the action.

The hungry teenagers voraciously consumed the entire pizza in less than five minutes.

It is also important to note the noun forms derived from this verb, primarily 'consumption' (the act of consuming) and 'consumer' (the person who consumes). While the prompt focuses on the verb, recognizing these related terms helps solidify your understanding of the word family. You will often see 'consume' used in infinitive phrases ('to consume') to express purpose or necessity, such as 'We need to consume less water.' In progressive tenses, it indicates an ongoing process: 'The fire is consuming the building.' Mastering these various structures—active, passive, emotional, and adverbial collocations—will allow you to deploy 'consume' naturally and effectively across a wide range of English contexts, from casual discussions about media habits to rigorous academic papers on resource management.
The word 'consume' permeates various facets of daily life, professional discourse, and academic study. Its presence is ubiquitous, adapting its specific connotation to the environment in which it is used. One of the most prominent arenas where you will encounter 'consume' is in the fields of economics and business. Here, it is a foundational concept. Economists constantly analyze what populations consume, how much they consume, and the resulting impact on markets. In this context, consuming refers to the purchasing and utilization of goods and services.
Economic Contexts
Discussions regarding market trends, consumer behavior, purchasing power, and the utilization of commercial goods.

During the holiday season, people tend to consume luxury goods at a much higher rate.

Environmental science and ecology represent another major domain for this word. Discussions about sustainability, climate change, and conservation rely heavily on the concept of consumption. Scientists and activists talk about how much energy, water, and fossil fuels humanity consumes, often warning about the dangers of overconsumption.
Environmental Discourse
Conversations about sustainability, resource depletion, energy use, and ecological footprints.

If we continue to consume natural resources at this unprecedented rate, future generations will suffer.

In the realm of health, nutrition, and medicine, 'consume' is the standard formal term for eating and drinking. Dietitians advise on how many calories to consume, while doctors might ask about the amount of alcohol or medication a patient consumes. It provides a clinical, precise way to discuss intake.

Patients are advised not to consume dairy products within two hours of taking this specific antibiotic.

The technology and media sectors have also heavily adopted the word. In the digital age, we talk about consuming content. This refers to reading articles, watching videos, scrolling through social media, or listening to podcasts. It reflects the idea that information is a product that we take in and process.
Media and Technology
The act of engaging with digital content, entertainment, news, and online platforms.

The way audiences consume television has fundamentally changed with the rise of streaming services.

Finally, in literature, poetry, and dramatic storytelling, 'consume' is used for its evocative power. It describes destruction by fire or the overwhelming nature of intense emotions. A character might be consumed by ambition, or a dragon's breath might consume a village. This literary usage highlights the word's capacity to convey absolute totality and devastation.

The protagonist was entirely consumed by his quest for revenge, ignoring all those who loved him.

By recognizing these distinct contexts—economics, environment, health, media, and literature—you can better appreciate the nuances of 'consume' and understand exactly what is being communicated when you hear or read it.
While 'consume' is a highly useful word, learners of English frequently make several common mistakes when incorporating it into their vocabulary. These errors often stem from a misunderstanding of register, incorrect preposition usage, or confusion with similar-sounding words. One of the most frequent mistakes is using 'consume' in overly casual contexts where 'eat' or 'drink' would be much more appropriate. Because 'consume' is a formal word, using it to describe a simple, everyday meal can sound unnatural, robotic, or overly dramatic.
Register Errors
Using a formal word in an informal setting, making the speech sound unnatural or overly academic.

Incorrect: I am going to consume a sandwich for lunch. (Correct: I am going to eat a sandwich for lunch.)

Another common pitfall involves prepositions, specifically when using the passive voice to describe emotional states. Learners sometimes use 'from' or 'of' instead of the correct prepositions 'by' or 'with'. When an emotion takes over, you are consumed *by* it or *with* it.
Preposition Mistakes
Using the wrong preposition after the passive form of consume when discussing emotions.

Incorrect: He was consumed from anger. (Correct: He was consumed by anger.)

There is also frequent confusion between 'consume' and words that look or sound similar, such as 'assume', 'resume', or 'presume'. These words share the Latin root 'sumere' (to take), but their prefixes change their meanings entirely. 'Assume' means to suppose to be the case, 'resume' means to begin again, and 'consume' means to use up. Mixing these up can lead to significant communication breakdowns.

Incorrect: The car will assume a lot of gas. (Correct: The car will consume a lot of gas.)

Furthermore, learners sometimes forget that 'consume' is a transitive verb and try to use it without a direct object. You cannot say 'The fire consumed' and end the sentence there; you must specify what the fire consumed.
Missing Direct Object
Failing to provide the noun that receives the action of the verb 'consume'.

Incorrect: Because he was hungry, he consumed. (Correct: Because he was hungry, he consumed the entire meal.)

Finally, in the context of media, some learners might say 'consume a book' to mean reading it. While we say 'consume media' or 'consume content' as a broad category, we rarely use 'consume' for specific, traditional singular items like a single book or a single song in casual speech; we prefer 'read a book' or 'listen to a song'. 'Consume' in media usually refers to the aggregate habit.

Awkward: I consumed a great novel yesterday. (Better: I read a great novel yesterday.)

Avoiding these common mistakes will significantly improve the natural flow and accuracy of your English.
Expanding your vocabulary means not just knowing a word, but understanding its synonyms and the subtle shades of meaning that differentiate them. The word 'consume' has several close relatives, each suited to slightly different contexts. Understanding these nuances allows for more precise and expressive communication. One of the most common synonyms for the literal meaning of consume is 'devour'. While consume is clinical and formal, devour is passionate, aggressive, and animalistic. It means to eat something hungrily or quickly. You might consume a protein shake for health, but you devour a pizza after a long fast.
Devour
To eat up greedily or ravenously; to read or look at something with intense interest.

The starving wolves will quickly devour their prey, whereas a human might formally consume a prepared meal.

When discussing resources, 'deplete' and 'exhaust' are excellent alternatives. 'Deplete' means to reduce the number or quantity of something, often gradually. 'Exhaust' means to use up completely, leaving nothing behind. Consume focuses on the act of using, while deplete and exhaust focus on the resulting lack of the resource.
Deplete / Exhaust
To diminish in number or quantity; to use up the entire supply of something.

Continuous farming will deplete the soil of nutrients, just as a large engine will rapidly consume fuel.

Another related word is 'utilize'. Utilize means to make practical and effective use of something. It is very similar to consume in academic contexts, but utilize implies a more constructive, purposeful application, whereas consume often implies that the resource is destroyed or gone after use.

The engineers plan to utilize solar power, hoping to consume less electricity from the main grid.

In the context of emotions, 'engulf' or 'overwhelm' serve as strong synonyms. If you are consumed by sadness, you are overwhelmed by it. Engulf carries a metaphorical connection to being swallowed up, much like a fire consumes a building.
Engulf / Overwhelm
To sweep over something so as to surround or cover it completely; to have a strong emotional effect on.

A feeling of despair threatened to engulf her, much like the flames that would soon consume the old barn.

Finally, 'absorb' is often used similarly to consume when talking about information or media. You absorb knowledge or absorb a lecture. Absorb implies taking something in and retaining it, whereas consuming media simply means experiencing it. By carefully selecting among consume, devour, deplete, exhaust, utilize, overwhelm, and absorb, you can tailor your language to convey exactly the right tone and meaning in any situation.

How Formal Is It?

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知っておくべき文法

レベル別の例文

1

I consume water when I am thirsty.

I drink water...

Subject + consume + object.

2

Cows consume a lot of grass.

Cows eat a lot of grass.

Used here to mean 'eat'.

3

The big car consumes too much gas.

The car uses too much fuel.

Consume means to use up.

4

Do not consume this food after the date.

Do not eat this food...

Common on warning labels.

5

He consumes three meals a day.

He eats three meals...

Formal way to say eat.

6

Plants consume water to grow.

Plants use water...

Consume as 'take in'.

7

The old lights consume a lot of power.

The lights use power.

Using electricity.

8

We consume fruit to stay healthy.

We eat fruit...

Consume meaning to eat for health.

1

People consume more electricity in the winter to stay warm.

People use more electricity...

Consume used with energy.

2

You should not consume too much sugar.

You should not eat too much sugar.

Used for dietary advice.

3

The fire consumed the dry wood very quickly.

The fire burned the wood completely.

Consume meaning to destroy by fire.

4

Playing this game will consume all your free time.

The game will use up your time.

Consume used with time.

5

Our city consumes a large amount of clean water every day.

The city uses a lot of water.

Large scale usage.

6

If you consume too many calories, you will gain weight.

If you eat too many calories...

Medical/health context.

7

The new washing machine consumes less water than the old one.

The machine uses less water.

Comparing resource usage.

8

Many animals consume plants to survive in the forest.

Animals eat plants...

Biological context.

1

Modern society consumes vast amounts of fossil fuels, which harms the environment.

Society uses a lot of fossil fuels...

Environmental context.

2

Teenagers today consume most of their news through social media platforms.

Teenagers read/watch news on social media.

Consuming media/information.

3

The project consumed so much of her energy that she fell asleep at her desk.

The project used all her energy.

Metaphorical use with energy.

4

We need to find ways to consume less and recycle more.

We must buy/use less...

Economic/Environmental usage.

5

He was entirely consumed by fear when he heard the strange noise downstairs.

Fear took over him completely.

Passive voice with emotions.

6

The documentary explains how Americans consume more meat than any other nation.

Americans eat more meat...

Statistical/formal fact.

7

A black hole has a gravitational pull so strong that it can consume entire stars.

A black hole can swallow stars.

Scientific context.

8

To prepare for the exam, she consumed three cups of coffee in one hour.

She drank three cups of coffee...

Formal word for drinking.

1

The relentless pursuit of wealth eventually consumed his entire life, leaving him lonely.

The desire for money took over his life.

Abstract concept as the subject.

2

Developing nations are beginning to consume resources at a rate comparable to the West.

Developing countries are using resources fast.

Macroeconomic context.

3

The wildfire, fueled by high winds, consumed thousands of acres of pristine forest.

The fire destroyed the forest.

Destruction by fire.

4

In the digital age, we passively consume an unprecedented volume of information daily.

We take in a lot of information.

Adverb collocation: passively consume.

5

She was consumed with curiosity about what lay hidden inside the ancient, locked box.

She was overwhelmed by curiosity.

Passive voice: consumed with [emotion].

6

The new software update consumes a significant portion of the computer's processing power.

The software uses a lot of CPU.

Technological context.

7

Critics argue that the culture industry encourages citizens to blindly consume entertainment.

People are encouraged to just watch/buy entertainment.

Sociological critique.

8

Unless we alter our habits, we will consume the earth's remaining oil reserves within decades.

We will use up all the oil.

Future conditional regarding resources.

1

The overarching economic paradigm dictates that the populace must continually consume to sustain GDP growth.

The economy requires people to keep buying things.

Advanced academic vocabulary.

2

He was so consumed by his own hubris that he failed to anticipate the market crash.

His arrogance overwhelmed him.

Literary/psychological analysis.

3

The algorithm is meticulously designed to maximize the amount of content users consume in a single session.

The code makes users watch as much as possible.

Tech industry jargon.

4

Historically, conquering armies would consume the resources of the vanquished territories to fuel further campaigns.

Armies would use up the resources of defeated lands.

Historical context.

5

The flames rapidly consumed the historic cathedral, reducing centuries of architectural brilliance to ash.

The fire completely destroyed the cathedral.

Evocative description of destruction.

6

In a consumerist society, individual identity is often inextricably linked to the brands and products one consumes.

Identity is tied to what people buy.

Sociological analysis.

7

The sheer volume of bureaucratic red tape consumed an inordinate amount of the committee's time.

Paperwork wasted a lot of time.

Formal professional context.

8

To combat climate change, a paradigm shift is required in how industrialized nations generate and consume energy.

A major change is needed in energy use.

Environmental policy discourse.

1

The protagonist's consuming passion for vengeance ultimately precipitates his tragic downfall.

His overwhelming desire for revenge causes his ruin.

Used as a participial adjective (consuming passion).

2

We inhabit an epoch where the voracious appetite of global capitalism threatens to consume the very biosphere that sustains it.

Capitalism might destroy the environment it needs.

Highly advanced ecological and economic critique.

3

Her grief was not a fleeting sorrow, but a consuming fire that eradicated all previous joy from her existence.

Her sadness was totally destructive.

Poetic metaphor.

4

The treatise argues that modern man does not merely consume media; rather, he is consumed by the hyperreality it projects.

People are overwhelmed by fake media realities.

Philosophical/Baudrillardian context.

5

The insidious nature of the disease is such that it slowly consumes the host's cognitive faculties before affecting the physical body.

The disease destroys the brain slowly.

Advanced medical terminology.

6

The black hole's event horizon represents a boundary beyond which all matter and light are inexorably consumed.

Everything is swallowed past the black hole's edge.

Astrophysical context.

7

The debate consumed the parliament for weeks, yielding no consensus but exacerbating partisan divides.

The argument took up all the parliament's time.

Political discourse.

8

He possessed a mind that consumed knowledge with the indiscriminate voracity of a starving animal.

He learned everything very hungrily.

Advanced literary simile.

類義語

utilize expend deplete absorb devour exhaust

反対語

produce conserve preserve

よく使う組み合わせ

consume energy
consume time
consume alcohol
consume media
consume resources
rapidly consume
completely consume
consumed by fire
consumed with guilt
massively consume

よく使うフレーズ

consume a lot of

time-consuming

consumed by passion

consume content

ready to consume

safe to consume

consume in moderation

fire consumed the

consume vast amounts

all-consuming

よく混同される語

consume vs assume

consume vs resume

consume vs presume

慣用句と表現

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間違えやすい

consume vs

consume vs

consume vs

consume vs

consume vs

文型パターン

使い方

formality

Highly formal. Replaces eat, drink, use, or spend in academic contexts.

transitivity warning

Never use without an object unless in passive voice.

literal vs figurative

Literally means to eat/use up. Figuratively means to overwhelm (emotions) or destroy (fire).

よくある間違い
  • Using 'consume' instead of 'eat' in informal, casual conversations.
  • Forgetting the direct object (e.g., saying 'The car consumes' instead of 'The car consumes gas').
  • Using the wrong preposition with emotions (e.g., 'consumed from anger' instead of 'consumed by anger').
  • Confusing 'consume' with 'assume' or 'resume' due to the similar spelling and Latin root.
  • Using 'consume' to mean 'read' for a single book (e.g., 'I consumed a book' instead of 'I read a book').

ヒント

Always use an object

Remember that 'consume' is transitive. You must state what is being consumed. Never leave it hanging.

Learn the word family

Don't just learn 'consume'. Learn 'consumer', 'consumption', and 'consumable'. They appear together often.

Avoid in casual speech

Don't tell your friends you are 'consuming a beer'. Say you are drinking it. Save 'consume' for IELTS or TOEFL essays.

Pair with adverbs

Enhance your writing by using adverbs. 'Rapidly consume', 'eagerly consume', or 'passively consume' sound very native.

Emotions take 'by' or 'with'

When an emotion takes over, you are consumed BY it or WITH it. Never use 'from' or 'of'.

Use for environmental topics

If you write an essay about climate change, 'consume' is a must-use word for discussing energy and resources.

Media consumption

Use 'consume content' or 'consume media' when talking about internet habits. It shows you know modern English.

Time-consuming

Use the adjective 'time-consuming' for long, boring tasks. It is very common in the workplace.

One S, one M

It is spelled c-o-n-s-u-m-e. Do not confuse it with assume, which has two S's.

Think of destruction

Remember that consuming something often means it is gone forever, like a fire consuming a house or eating an apple.

暗記しよう

記憶術

Con-SUME: Think of someone who 'SUMS' up all the food and eats it completely.

語源

Latin

文化的な背景

Similar to North America, often used in environmental contexts regarding energy.

Highly associated with consumerism and the economy.

Used extensively to describe watching videos, reading posts, and listening to podcasts ('consuming content').

実生活で練習する

実際の使用場面

会話のきっかけ

"How much digital content do you think you consume in a day?"

"Do you think our society consumes too many natural resources?"

"Have you ever been completely consumed by a hobby or interest?"

"What is the best way to consume news in the modern world?"

"Why do you think people consume so much fast food?"

日記のテーマ

Write about a time when you were consumed by a strong emotion like joy or anger.

Analyze your own media consumption habits. What do you consume the most?

Discuss the environmental impact of how much water and electricity your household consumes.

Write a short story about a fire that consumes an old, abandoned mansion.

Reflect on the difference between creating something and consuming something.

よくある質問

10 問

Yes, but only in formal or scientific contexts. If you are talking to a doctor about your diet, you can say 'I consume 2000 calories a day.' If you are talking to a friend, say 'I eat 2000 calories.' Using 'consume' casually sounds strange. It is better reserved for writing.

It means the fire completely destroyed the object. The fire 'ate' the building or the forest. There is usually nothing left but ashes. It is a very dramatic and descriptive way to talk about destruction.

Yes, it is strictly transitive. This means it must have a direct object. You cannot say 'I am consuming.' You must say 'I am consuming food' or 'I am consuming media.'

You consume a resource, which is the action of using it. Deplete is the result of that action. Because you consume water, the water supply becomes depleted. Consume focuses on the user, while deplete focuses on the resource running out.

Use the passive voice with the prepositions 'by' or 'with'. For example, 'She was consumed by jealousy' or 'He was consumed with guilt.' It means the emotion was so strong that they couldn't think about anything else.

It is a modern phrase used to describe how we interact with the internet, TV, and news. When you read articles, watch TikToks, or listen to podcasts, you are 'consuming media'. It treats information like a product we take into our brains.

It is an adjective phrase meaning a task takes a very long time to finish. For example, 'Filling out these tax forms is very time-consuming.' It means the task 'eats up' your time.

The main noun forms are 'consumption' (the act of using things up) and 'consumer' (the person who buys or uses things). You will see these words often in economics and business.

Yes, in biology and ecology, we often say animals consume plants or other animals. For example, 'Herbivores consume plant matter.' It is a scientific way to say 'eat'.

Economists use it to describe the act of people buying and using goods and services. It is the opposite of producing. A healthy economy usually requires people to consume products so businesses can make money.

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関連コンテンツ

Foodの関連語

additive

B2

A substance added to something in small quantities to improve, strengthen, or preserve it. It is most commonly used in the context of food processing, fuel production, and industrial manufacturing to enhance specific qualities like flavor, shelf life, or performance.

additives

B2

添加物は、保存性を高めたり見た目を良くしたりするために食品に加えられる物質です。

almond

B2

Describes a light, creamy-tan color or an oval shape that tapers at the ends, resembling the seed of the almond tree. It is frequently used in the context of fashion, beauty, and interior design to categorize shades and physical features.

annatto

B1

アナトーは、ベニノキの種子から作られる天然の赤橙色の食品着色料です。チーズやバターの色付けに使われます。

appetite

C1

Appetite refers to a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need, most commonly for food. In a broader sense, it describes a strong desire or liking for a specific activity, experience, or object, such as power or knowledge.

appetizer

C1

食前酒（しょくぜんしゅ）や前菜（ぜんさい）は、食事の前に食欲を刺激するために出されるものです。

appetizing

B2

食欲をそそる（しょくよくをそそる）とは、見た目や香りが良く、お腹が空くようなことです。

apple

C1

彼はその問題を 'apple' に解決した。清潔感のある、シンプルな方法で。

apples

A1

リンゴは丸くて食べられる果物です。

apricot

C1

Describes a soft, yellowish-orange color characteristic of the fruit's skin, often used in aesthetic contexts such as fashion and interior design. At an advanced level, it implies a specific warmth and subtlety in color theory and descriptive writing.

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