Consist
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A lineup or sequence of railroad carriages or cars, with or without a locomotive, that form a unit.
"The train's consist included a baggage car, four passenger cars, and a diner."
- 1 To be. copulative, obsolete
"Why doe they cover with so many lets, one over another, those parts where chiefly consisteth [translating loge] our pleasure and theirs?"
- 2 be composed of wordnet
- 3 To exist or be compatible. archaic, intransitive
"[Homer] allows their characters such estimable qualities as could consist, and in truth generally do, with tender frailties."
- 4 originate (in) wordnet
- 5 be consistent in form, tenor, or character; be congruous wordnet
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- 6 have its essential character; be comprised or contained in; be embodied in wordnet
Example
More examples"Education does not consist simply in learning a lot of facts."
Etymology
From Middle French consister, from Latin consistō (“stand together, stop, become hard or solid, agree with, continue, exist”), from com- (“together”) + sistō (“I cause to stand, stand”).
From consist (verb).
Related phrases
More for "consist"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.