Many consume it (4)
I believe the answer is:
meat
'it' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'many consume' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'm' (Roman numeral for a thousand).
'consume' becomes 'eat' (eating is a kind of consuming).
'm'+'eat'='MEAT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for meat that I've seen before include "Beef, chicken, pork etc" , "Edible flesh" , "Eg, beef or pork" , "Chops, steaks etc" , "grub, say" .)