# consulting

/kənˈsəɫtɪŋ/ (US) · /kənsˈʌltɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/consulting
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. seeking advice

verb · CEFR B1

the act of asking someone for information, advice, or permission.

For teachers: the present participle of 'consult', referring to the act of seeking information or professional advice from a person or source.

- After consulting the map, we realized we were going the wrong way.
- By consulting several historical archives, the researcher was able to reconstruct the timeline of the city's founding with high accuracy.

### 2. professional advice

noun · CEFR B2

the business of giving expert advice to people or companies.

For teachers: the professional practice of providing expert advice within a specific field, such as business, technology, or law.

- She left her office job to start a career in management consulting.
- The firm specializes in environmental consulting, helping large corporations reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining profitability.

### 3. providing expert advice

adjective · CEFR B2 · Formal

describing a person who gives professional advice rather than doing the regular work.

For teachers: employed or acting in an advisory capacity rather than a permanent or executive one.

- He was hired as a consulting engineer for the new bridge project.
- The board appointed a consulting editor to oversee the transition to the new digital publishing platform.

### 4. medical specialist

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a senior doctor who gives expert advice on a specific case.

For teachers: a senior medical specialist who provides expert opinions on patient cases, often on a part-time or referral basis.

- The family requested a second opinion from a consulting physician.
- The consulting physician reviewed the patient's charts and recommended a more aggressive course of treatment than the primary care doctor had suggested.

## Examples

- You should consider consulting a doctor about your symptoms.
- The legal team spent the afternoon consulting several old law books to find a precedent for the case.
- Before making any major structural changes to the building, the architects spent weeks consulting with local historians to ensure the new design respected the neighborhood's heritage.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.