concerted
Americanadjective
-
contrived or arranged by agreement; planned or devised together.
a concerted effort.
- Synonyms:
- cooperative, joint, united
-
done or performed together or in cooperation.
a concerted attack.
- Synonyms:
- cooperative, joint, united
-
Music. arranged in parts for several voices or instruments.
adjective
-
mutually contrived, planned, or arranged; combined (esp in the phrases concerted action, concerted effort )
-
music arranged in parts for a group of singers or players
Other Word Forms
- concertedly adverb
- concertedness noun
- unconcerted adjective
- unconcertedly adverb
- well-concerted adjective
Etymology
Origin of concerted
Explanation
If you and your friends launch into singing “Old MacDonald” loudly together, in the middle of the public library, you will all have made a concerted, or cooperative, effort to annoy lots of people. Concerted is often used to describe a group effort to achieve a particular goal. As you may have guessed, concerted comes from the word concert. While a concert can be defined as "a group of musicians playing cooperatively," concert can also designate other types of cooperative behavior. If a group of people do anything together — from singing an annoying song to throwing library books at agreed-upon targets — they are acting in concert, or in a concerted manner.
Vocabulary lists containing concerted
Power Prefix: con-
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Relevant Vocabulary from Fourth Democratic Debate, January 17, 2016
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Notes of a Native Son
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Britain's second largest bird of prey was wiped out in England during the 19th Century after a concerted campaign of hunting.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Uruguay, whose concerted renewables push has granted almost total energy independence, sweated little during the 2022 energy shock, and now has the ability to export clean power to neighbors in need.
From Slate • Mar. 12, 2026
But a concerted, prolonged campaign could change that assessment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026
While there haven’t been concerted attacks on energy infrastructure so far, tanker-tracking firms say many companies have avoided traversing the narrow shipping route out of caution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026
They were incapable of concerted action on their own behalf.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
