Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🥗 To eat too little 🛒 To buy too little
to underconsume

to underconsume

7.7
Spend less money on goods and services than usual
  • verb
  • /ˌʌndərkənˈsuːm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : subconsumir
  • Economists warn that a tendency to underconsume can slow down economic growth.

Examples

  • If people underconsume, businesses may struggle to sell their products.

  • During the recession, many families began to underconsume to save money.

  • Many people underconsume healthy foods.

  • The economy may underconsume due to high prices.

  • During the recession, many families began to underconsume in order to save money.

  • If people underconsume, businesses may find it difficult to sell their products.

  • Economists warn that consistently choosing to underconsume can lead to slower economic growth.

Synonyms

to underspend
vsto underconsume
5.7

To use less money than planned or expected

focuses on buying fewer goods or services than expected or needed

Antonyms

overbuy
6.8

Buying more of something than you need

How Much

to underconsume
  • Specialized
7.7
to cut back
169 2.9

Surface Forms

underconsume infinitive
underconsumed past
underconsumed past participle
underconsuming present participle
underconsumes third person singular

Morphology

underconsume = consume (transparent) = under + consume

In economic contexts the prefix 'under-' still productively means 'to a lesser degree', so 'underconsume' clearly means 'to spend or buy less than expected'.

Etymology

Underconsume comes from the prefix under- 'below' and consume 'to buy or use goods'. So to underconsume in an economy is to buy or spend less than expected, which can slow down businesses and the wider economy.