Consume \Con*sume"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Consumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Consuming.]

[L. consumere to take wholly or complectely, to consume; con- + sumere to take; sub + emere to buv. See Redeem.]

To destroy, as by decomposition, dissipation, waste, or fire; to use up; to expend; to waste; to burn up; to eat up; to devour.

If he were putting to my house the brand That shall consume it. --Shak.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume. --Matt. vi. 20 (Rev. Ver. ).

Let me alone . . . that I may consume them. --Ex. xxxii. 10.

Syn: To destroy; swallow up; ingulf; absorb; waste; exhaust; spend; expend; squander; lavish; dissipate.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)