consumer

Everyday

1. A consumer is a person who buys or uses goods and services. tree →
2. In science, a consumer is a living thing that gets its energy by eating other plants or animals, not by making its own food. tree →

In the lessons

In social studies and money lessons consumers buy things in shops and online, and they have rights (to safe goods, to a refund for broken things). In science food chains, plants are producers and animals are consumers: primary consumers eat plants, secondary consumers eat other animals. Phrases: consumer rights, primary consumer, secondary consumer, consumer goods.

Examples

• A rabbit is a primary consumer because it eats plants. tree →
• A fox is a secondary consumer. tree →
• Consumers want good quality at a fair price. tree →
• Every time you buy a toy, you are a consumer. tree →
• Consumer rights mean you can return broken goods. tree →
• In a food chain, the arrow points from the food to the consumer. tree →
• Many consumers now shop online. tree →

Note

Countable: a consumer, consumers. Verb: consume (to eat or use up). In science, opposite of «producer» (a plant that makes its own food); a «decomposer» breaks down dead things. Trap: the animal that eats the plants is the primary consumer; the plant itself is the producer, not a consumer.