Pronunciation

How to pronounce “consume

“consume” is pronounced /kənˈsum/ (kuhn-SOOM) in American English and /kənsjuːm/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sum”.
The sound

Say “consume” in 2 beats

Say it like this

consume

/kənˈsum/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kənsjuːm/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. kənkən
  2. sumsumstress
IPA (American)
/kənˈsum/
IPA (British)
/kənsjuːm/
Respelling
kuhn-SOOM
Syllables
2 — kən-SUM
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kən-SUM. “sum” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kənˈsum/

British

/kənsjuːm/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “consume” means

  1. verb

    eat immoderately

    Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal

  2. verb

    serve oneself to, or consume regularly

    Have another bowl of chicken soup!

  3. verb

    spend extravagantly

    waste not, want not

Say it in a sentence

The boys consume an entire loaf between them each morning.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

consume”, answered

How do you pronounce “consume”?

“consume” is pronounced /kənˈsum/ (kuhn-SOOM) in American English and /kənsjuːm/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sum”. Build it as kən-SUM, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “consume” have?

2: kən · sum. The beat lands on the second, “sum”.

Is “consume” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kənˈsum/ (kuhn-SOOM); British English says /kənsjuːm/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “consume” mean?

As a verb: eat immoderately For example: “Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “consume”?

Stress the second syllable: kən-SUM. “sum” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “consume” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.