Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing.
  • noun Ecology A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who consumes, destroys, wastes, or spends; that which consumes.
  • noun Specifically, in polit, econ., one who destroys the exchangeable value of a commodity by using it: the opposite of producer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who, or that which, consumes.
  • noun (Econ.) the person or organization that uses some item of commerce or service in its own acitities, as opposed to reselling the item or including it as part of another item for resale; -- called also the end user.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who, or that which, consumes.
  • noun economics someone who trades money for goods as an individual.
  • noun biology an organism that uses other organisms for food in order to gain energy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who uses goods or services

Etymologies

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Examples

  • So with that, I think the term "consumer" is appropriate.

    Philip Hunt: Prospects Beware! Philip Hunt 2011

  • So with that, I think the term "consumer" is appropriate.

    Philip Hunt: Prospects Beware! Philip Hunt 2011

  • So with that, I think the term "consumer" is appropriate.

    Philip Hunt: Prospects Beware! Philip Hunt 2011

  • So with that, I think the term "consumer" is appropriate.

    Philip Hunt: Prospects Beware! Philip Hunt 2011

  • The term consumer makes you into nothing more than a machine that devours goods and services.

    Big Greed's Dream 2009

  • 'Every time I hear the word consumer instead of patient, an angel dies.'

    Forbes.com: News Avik Roy 2011

  • My problem with the term "consumer" is the same one that

    Site Home Joey deVilla 2011

  • My problem with the term "consumer" is the same one that

    Site Home Joey deVilla 2011

  • Last Week's Challenge: From Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website MathPuzzle.com: Take the phrase "consumer protection laws," and rearrange the letters to name a person in broadcasting and an issue of public debate.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • So with that, I think the term "consumer" is appropriate.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Philip Hunt 2011

  • A diverse and growing segment, zero consumers share the following attributes: they’re omnichannel shoppers, they scrimp and splurge at the same time, they’re not loyal to brands, and they care about health and sustainability (even though they aren’t always willing to pay for it).

    ‘Zero consumers’: What they want and why it matters Dymfke Kuijpers 2023

Comments

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  • How the hell did "consumer" become an advocacy term for people using mental health services?? Does that mean I was a producer? How is that empowering for anyone? Quick! Buy more! -- Save the economy, buy a Hummer (or whatever it is I want to attribute to Bush.)

    June 29, 2008