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consumer

noun

  1. organism in an ecological food chain that receives energy by consuming other organisms
  2. person or group of people that are the final users of products and or services; one who pays something to consume goods and services produced
L6152 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /kənˈsjuːmə/ / /kənˈʃuːmə/ / /kənˈsumɚ/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-der. Proto-Italic *emō Latin emō Latin sūmō Latin cōnsūmōder. Old French consumerbor. Middle English consumen English consume Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English consumer From consume + -er.

  1. One who, or that which, consumes.

    But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries. By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal.

  2. Someone who trades money for goods or services as an individual.

    This new system favours the consumer over the producer.

    Almost two-thirds of American consumers have at least one unspent gift card tucked away in a drawer, pocket, wallet or purse.

  3. The consumer base of a product, service or business.

    Our consumers are upwardly mobile and middle-class.

  4. An organism (heterotroph) that uses other organisms for food in order to gain energy.