cede
Americanverb (used with object)
-
cedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ceded,
past participle, past
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ceding
present participle
verb
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to transfer, make over, or surrender (something, esp territory or legal rights)
the lands were ceded by treaty
-
(tr) to allow or concede (a point in an argument, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cedesimple
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cedessimple
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have cededperfect
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has cededperfect
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am cedingprogressive
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are cedingprogressive
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is cedingprogressive
-
have been cedingperfect progressive
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has been cedingperfect progressive
Past
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cededsimple
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had cededperfect
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was cedingprogressive
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were cedingprogressive
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had been cedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cede
First recorded in 1625–35, cede is from the Latin word cēdere “to go, yield”
Explanation
To cede is to give up or surrender land, position, or authority. "She reluctantly ceded the coveted position as the baby of the family to her brother when he was born. She would not, however, cede her bedroom to him." Cede is a word often used in discussing diplomatic issues. It is more commonly used in reference to actual physical things, like geographic areas or objects, but can also be used in reference to attitudes or opinions. "The rebels ceded territory after the siege failed." "Dad tried but finally ceded control and let me have my own Facebook account."
Vocabulary lists containing cede
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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.
See Examples For:
A seat at the table is too important to cede to whoever is willing to leak a photograph.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Metro might cede “the massive responsibility of delivering a spectator and workforce transit system” to LA28.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Never one to cede the spotlight, Trump returned to the stage on Thursday night after Vance to round off the convention.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Importantly, integrating Claude into Salesforce’s platform causes Salesforce to cede control of its user interface layer in some ways; the company must give up control of where users access Salesforce data from, for instance.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
It helps to keep in mind that all but four end with cede.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
To get the upfront tax deduction, the donor cedes legal control of the donated funds to the DAF sponsor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The announcement answers long-simmering questions about a successor for 65-year-old Cook, who said he will become executive chairman of the board when he cedes Apple's CEO position.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
Regardless, Bennett is expected to get the majority of work, while McVay cedes play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2024
Haidt, a digital absolutist, cedes no ground on the issue of social media.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
Valentinian by a treaty of peace cedes Africa to Genseric.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 04 by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
The Cordillera mountain region's animist residents adopted Christianity only after Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in 1898, four centuries after Spanish friars had converted the people of the coasts to Catholicism.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mr. Specht argues that the “the ownership society ceded a lot of autonomy to local communities” and that “local governance has become little more than a blanket veto on any proposal for new development.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
It has also ceded its position as the Nordic country's second-largest political force.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
With the decline, Nvidia ceded back to Apple the position of largest U.S. company by market cap, a title it has held since May of last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
If I had not ceded control of the wheel, and if he had not assumed control of the vessel so deftly, I’m sure I’d be dead.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
After ceding advantage from the kick-off, England saw off the initial danger but were caught out chasing the kick from their try-line.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
That war of wills ended with the Emirates ceding control of Bab el-Mandeb — along with the nearby island of Perim, where the Emirates had built a drone airbase — to Saudi Arabia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
While chip stocks were bouncing on Tuesday and software stocks were ceding some ground, neither move unwinds the extent of Monday’s performance.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
One question is the wisdom of ceding more tariff authority to the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Gramps lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceding.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
