Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To give over to the care or custody of another.
  • intransitive verb To put in or assign to an unfavorable place, position, or condition:
  • intransitive verb To set apart, as for a special use or purpose; assign.
  • intransitive verb To deliver (merchandise, for example) for custody or sale.
  • intransitive verb To submit; consent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • 1. To impress, as or as if with a stamp or seal.
  • To give, send, or commit; relegate; make over; deliver into the possession of another or into a different state, implying subsequent fixedness or permanence: sometimes with over: as, at death the body is consigned to the grave.
  • To deliver or transfer, as a charge or trust; intrust; appoint.
  • In com., to transmit by carrier, in trust for sale or custody, usually implying agency in the consignee, but also used loosely of the act of transmitting by carrier to another for any purpose: as the goods were consigned to the London agent.
  • To put into a certain form or commit for permanent preservation.
  • To set apart; appropriate; apply.
  • = Svn. Intrust, Confide, etc. See commit.
  • To submit; surrender one's self; yield.
  • To agree, assent, or consent.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To give, transfer, or deliver, in a formal manner, as if by signing over into the possession of another, or into a different state, with the sense of fixedness in that state, or permanence of possession.
  • transitive verb To give in charge; to commit; to intrust.
  • transitive verb (Com.) To send or address (by bill of lading or otherwise) to an agent or correspondent in another place, to be cared for or sold, or for the use of such correspondent.
  • transitive verb To assign; to devote; to set apart.
  • transitive verb obsolete To stamp or impress; to affect.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To submit; to surrender or yield one's self.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To yield consent; to agree; to acquiesce.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, business To transfer to the custody of, usually for sale, transport, or safekeeping.
  • verb transitive To entrust to the care of another.
  • verb transitive To send to a final destination.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb commit forever; commit irrevocably
  • verb give over to another for care or safekeeping
  • verb send to an address

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English consignen, to certify by seal, from Old French consigner, from Latin cōnsignāre : com-, intensive pref.; see com– + signāre, to mark (from signum, mark; see sekw- in Indo-European roots).]

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Examples

  • Black's 8th's definitions of "consign," "consignment," and "consignation" suggest that my previous speculation may be roughly correct ....

    WordPress.com News adask 2009

  • Bobby Rush might call the bluff and dare Harry Reid et al. to consign the lone black Senator to the back of the bus.

    Elections 2006/2008 2009

  • But it seemed a pity to consign his thoughts to a scholarly journal, to be read by a few hundred fellow academics who already knew more than enough about the author of "The Lord of the Rings."

    'Tolkien Professor' brings Middle-earth to iTunes Daniel de Vise 2011

  • But it seemed a pity to consign his thoughts to a scholarly journal, to be read by a few hundred fellow academics who already knew more than enough about the author of "The Lord of the Rings."

    'Tolkien Professor' brings Middle-earth to iTunes Daniel de Vise 2011

  • But it seemed a pity to consign his thoughts to a scholarly journal, to be read by a few hundred fellow academics who already knew more than enough about the author of "The Lord of the Rings."

    'Tolkien Professor' brings Middle-earth to iTunes Daniel de Vise 2011

  • Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession.

    Archive 2009-02-01 2009

  • Or perhaps those who would benefit most from Imran Khan's wise suggestions are the timid little satrap/'allies' of NATO who would sooner waste their wealth, consign their sons to foreign graves and provoke generations of revenge attacks than tell a ranting yankee general at the NATO meetings to depart and leave the rest of us and themalone.

    Pakistan will implode if the US does not leave Afghanistan 2011

  • Sadly, I must consign this one to the “Wait for Netflix” category, even if the small screen will diminish the imagery.

    Science Fiction 2010

  • Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession.

    Obama: President's Address to Congress 2009

  • And now conspiring with the Olympic people to consign Leyton Orient to the dustbin.

    West Ham's vow to keep athletics track had Tottenham on the run 2011

Comments

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  • " I consigned him to the minor canon of English enthusiasts for the avant-garde – in the end, not enthusiastic enough."

    Source: The times Literary supplement

    January 22, 2018