Transumer
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A writer who generates innovative and highly original ideas; a writer who transforms the genre in which they write.
"Le Guin is a grand far-fetcher or transumer of the true tradition of romance we call literary fantasy."
- 2 A consumer who makes purchases while travelling, such as at airports, train stations, hotels, etc.
"Of the IDZs, East London has received operating permits and the Johannesburg International Airport (JIA) and Richards Bay have been designated as IDZs. The JIA has a sectoral focus on its competitive advantage as a logistics hub as well as its "transumer" potential (for business travellers requiring tourism, consumer and corporate services), avionics and light industrial assembly of various appliances and goods for the SADC and other African markets (Rogerson, 2002)."
- 3 A consumer who has a preference for acquiring experiences or temporary goods over permanent possessions.
"Transumers are ready to pay less to rent, lease, or borrow—all in the name of having new things. For example, transumers who become members of Bag Borrow or Steal pay a monthly fee and pick and order handbags, keeping them until they're ready to trade in for a new model."
Example
More examples"Le Guin is a grand far-fetcher or transumer of the true tradition of romance we call literary fantasy."
Etymology
From transume + -er.
Coined by Fitch (a global design and business consultancy firm) in 2003 as Blend of transient + consumer
Related phrases
More for "transumer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.