Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

Consume \Con*sume"\, v. i.
   To waste away slowly.

         Therefore, let Renedick, like covered fire, Consume
         away in sighs.                           --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

consume
     v 1: eat immoderately; "Some people can down a pound of meat in
          the course of one meal" [syn: {devour}, {down}, {go
          through}]
     2: serve oneself to, or consume regularly; "Have another bowl
        of chicken soup!"; "I don't take sugar in my coffee" [syn:
         {ingest}, {take in}, {take}, {have}] [ant: {abstain}]
     3: spend extravagantly; "waste not, want not" [syn: {squander},
         {waste}, {ware}]
     4: destroy completely; "The fire consumed the building"
     5: use up (resources or materials); "this car consumes a lot of
        gas"; "We exhausted our savings"; "They run through 20
        bottles of wine a week" [syn: {eat up}, {use up}, {eat}, {deplete},
         {exhaust}, {run through}, {wipe out}]
     6: engage fully; "The effort to pass the exam consumed all his
        energy"