overconsumption

noun

over·​con·​sump·​tion ˌō-vər-kən-ˈsəm(p)-shən 

: excessive consumption or use of something

the overconsumption of fossil fuels

overconsumption of alcohol

The flip side of deficient saving, of course, is overconsumption. At its peak in 1987, household expenditure as a percentage of national income was 74%, almost four percentage points above the highest levels reached during the previous two decades.

—Robert S. Gay

Examples of overconsumption in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The hot plate → Gen Z's favorite ready-to-drink cocktails are raising new concerns that their high potency may fuel overconsumption. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026

Not because of the roving packs of teenagers or even the garish displays of overconsumption, but because mall architecture was high art. —Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Apr. 2026

Unlike smartphone screentime limits, which can be easily bypassed, the Brick offers a physical hard stop to digital overconsumption. —Greta Cross, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026

Instead, the expert consensus showed how pollution and resource depletion are driven far more by extraction and overconsumption than by head count. —Brian C. Keegan, The Conversation, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overconsumption

• assumption
• consumption
• presumption
• resumption
• subsumption
• gumption
• sumption