consign

IPA/kənˈsaɪn/
KK[kənsˈaɪn]IPA/kənˈsaɪn/

consign — verb

  • consignpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • consignshe / she / it
  • consignedpast simple
  • consigning-ing form

1. to arrange for goods or products to be shipped to a person, store, or organisati

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to arrange for goods or products to be shipped to a person, store, or organisation, typically for them to sell, store, or deliver further.

Example

The pottery studio in Kyoto consigned fifty ceramic bowls to a gallery in Milan.

consign [goods] + to [place/person]

Elena consigned her grandmother's silverware to an auction house before she moved abroad.

consign + personal possessions + to [business]

Common collocations
  • consign goods
  • consign cargo
  • consign products
  • consign to a warehouse
  • consign to an agent
  • consigned for sale
Synonyms
  • ship

    more general and everyday; 'ship' does not imply a commercial agent relationship

  • dispatch

    more formal; focuses on sending out promptly

  • forward

    focuses on onward transmission rather than the initial shipment

Antonyms
  • receive

    to take delivery of goods rather than send them

  • withhold

    to keep back rather than send out

Grammar Patterns

consign + goods/products + to + person/institution

Usage Note

Common in commercial and logistics contexts. The receiver is typically a business (agent, retailer, auction house) rather than an individual consumer.

Common Mistakes

I consigned the letter to my friend.
I sent the letter to my friend.
'consign' is for commercial shipments or formal transfer, not everyday personal mailing.

2. to place someone or something under the care or control of another person or ins

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to place someone or something under the care or control of another person or institution, trusting them to look after it properly.

Example

Before her trip to Chile, Fatima consigned her cat to the care of her neighbour Wei.

consign [living being] + to the care of [person]

The elderly professor consigned his entire collection of research notes to the university archive.

consign [objects] + to [institution] for safekeeping

Common collocations
  • consign to the care of
  • consign to safekeeping
  • consign to the hands of
  • consign to an institution
  • consign to oblivion
Synonyms
  • entrust

    more common in everyday use; implies personal trust rather than institutional arrangement

  • hand over

    less formal; simply means to give control to another person

  • commend

    more literary; often implies care and protection as well as trust

Antonyms
  • retain

    to keep something in one's own care instead of giving it to another

  • abandon

    to leave behind without arranging for care

Grammar Patterns

consign + something/someone + to + care/keeping of + person/institution

Usage Note

More formal than 'entrust', with a slightly older-fashioned tone. Often implies a legal or institutional arrangement rather than a casual favour. Object can be a person, an animal, or valuable items.

Common Mistakes

I consigned my phone to my friend for the afternoon.
I left my phone with my friend for the afternoon.
'consign' is too formal for casual, short-term favours.

3. to force someone or something into an unpleasant, unwanted situation from which

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to force someone or something into an unpleasant, unwanted situation from which escape is very difficult or impossible.

Example

Without international aid, the drought-stricken region was consigned to years of hunger and hardship.

passive: be consigned to [negative situation]

The director's first short film was consigned to near-total obscurity after a poor reception at the festival.

passive: be consigned to obscurity

Common collocations
  • consign to history
  • consign to oblivion
  • consign to flames
  • consign to failure
  • consign to obscurity
  • consign to the scrap heap
Synonyms
  • doom

    stronger and more dramatic; often implies a tragic or predetermined end

  • condemn

    overlaps heavily, but 'condemn' can also imply a moral judgment or legal punishment

  • relegate

    usually implies sending to a lower rank or position rather than complete destruction

  • banish

    suggests forced removal from a place or community

Antonyms
  • rescue

    to take someone out of an unpleasant situation rather than placing them into one

  • save

    to prevent someone from entering an undesirable state

Grammar Patterns

be consigned to + [negative situation/outcome]

consign + someone/something + to + [negative outcome]

Usage Note

Frequently appears in the passive voice ('be consigned to'). The object is always followed by a reference to an undesirable state or outcome — commonly obscurity, history, failure, oblivion, flames, or hardship.

Common Mistakes

The book was consigned to the bestseller list.
The book was consigned to the remainder bin.
'consign to' carries a negative or fateful tone; it does not work with positive outcomes.
She consigned herself to study harder.
She resigned herself to studying harder.
'resign oneself to' means to accept something unpleasant; 'consign to' places someone/something in that situation, not oneself.

Word family

  • consignment
    nounB2
  • consignor
    nounC1
  • consignee
    nounC1
  • consignation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/3

These four verbs all describe sending someone or something to an unwanted place or state, but with different emphasis. 'Doom' is the most dramatic — it suggests a tragic, inescapable fate (e.g., 'The project was doomed from the start'). 'Condemn' overlaps closely with 'consign' in this sense, but can also imply a legal or moral judgment ('The court condemned the building as unsafe'). 'Relegate' is milder and focuses on demotion to a lower position rather than destruction ('The team was relegated to the second division'). 'Banish' adds the idea of forced removal from a community or place ('The emperor banished the general from the kingdom'). Use 'consign to' when you want to emphasise the final, irreversible nature of the placement — especially with abstract nouns like 'obscurity', 'history', or 'flames'.

doom ↗condemn ↗relegatebanish ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • consign to the care of
  • consign to oblivion
  • consign to history
  • consign to flames

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Comes from Latin 'consignare' — 'com-' (together) + 'signare' (to seal or mark). The original meaning was to seal a document officially, which later shifted to handing over goods with a formal seal or mark of ownership. French carried it into English around the 1400s with the commercial sense of sending goods with a signed agreement.