use up v 1: 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: {consume}, {eat up}, {eat}, {deplete}, {exhaust}, {run through}, {wipe out}] 2: as of time or space; "It took three hours to get to work this morning"; "This event occupied a very short time" [syn: {take}, {occupy}]