concede
Americanverb (used with object)
-
concedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conceded,
past participle, past
-
conceding
present participle
-
to acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit.
He finally conceded that she was right.
- Synonyms:
- grant
- Antonyms:
- deny
-
to acknowledge (an opponent's victory, score, etc.) before it is officially established.
to concede an election before all the votes are counted.
-
to grant as a right or privilege; yield.
to concede a longer vacation for all employees.
- Antonyms:
- refuse
verb (used without object)
-
concedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conceded,
past participle, past
-
conceding
present participle
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to admit or acknowledge (something) as true or correct
-
to yield or allow (something, such as a right)
-
(tr) to admit as certain in outcome
to concede an election
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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concedernoun
-
preconcedeverb (used with object)
-
concessibleadjective
-
unconcedingadjective
-
concededlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
concedesimple
-
concedessimple
-
have concededperfect
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has concededperfect
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am concedingprogressive
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are concedingprogressive
-
is concedingprogressive
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have been concedingperfect progressive
-
has been concedingperfect progressive
Past
-
concededsimple
-
had concededperfect
-
was concedingprogressive
-
were concedingprogressive
-
had been concedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of concede
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin concēdere, equivalent to con- con- + cēdere “to withdraw, yield”; see cede
Explanation
If you concede something, you admit that it is true, proper, or certain — usually in an unwilling way and often in the context of a competition, as in "At midnight, the candidate finally conceded defeat." In its most common senses, a near synonym of concede is acknowledge — if your mom is pointing out that you need sleep before the test, you should concede the truth of what she's saying. But another meaning of concede is to give away or grant something, as when an unpopular leader is unwilling to concede power. Concede is from Latin concēdere, from the prefix com-, "completely," plus cēdere, "to go along, grant, yield." The corresponding noun is concession.
Vocabulary lists containing concede
List 1
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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:
If Liverpool are to be taken seriously, they simply cannot concede goals like that regularly.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Mr. Mamdani will soon have to concede the point or fade rapidly in political relevance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Any further strength here and you would have to concede a new leg higher for the space.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The vote proved too close to call on Tuesday evening, but by Wednesday morning, El-Sayed had claimed the win, and Stevens had phoned him to concede.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
“I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet... your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself.”
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
Even the abolitionist Death Penalty Information Center concedes that “there is no way to tell how many of the … people executed since 1976 may … have been innocent.”
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nvidia’s statement concedes that “once released, the weights are beyond the original developer’s control, and modified versions are difficult to trace or reverse”—then brushes this concern aside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Hickman, reached by email by MarketWatch, concedes that he is not sure.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Having been enjoyably candid about his goals for the summer - smashing a 27-year-old standard and winning Games gold - Kerr concedes there is relief about following word with deed.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
The proposer of the game is quiet for half an hour, then finally shrugs and concedes defeat.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
However, Bessent conceded, he wasn’t doing this now—only firing a “warning shot,” saying what would happen if those entities didn’t pull back.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ladd also conceded he had no evidence Davis ordered any shootings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
"I didn't realise it had been 14 years," he conceded.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Edney conceded there was "no evidence" that the jurors had communicated with anyone else, but said innocent contact - even just seeing the detective or solicitors - could have resulted in "subconscious influence".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Well, I don’t usually carry around three thou,” Rick conceded.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
The only variable is how much they spend before conceding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
That Villa lost 4-0 - conceding all four in a calamitous opening 31 minutes before having debutant Joao Gomes sent off - merely added added to the perceived insult.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
I’ve been wrestling with Jason Statham for a decade and I’m finally conceding defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"If they're suspending it in this East Dulwich store, they are conceding there's a problem with it. Why aren't they suspending it in every store?"
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
After more than three centuries of rule, the white minority was conceding defeat and turning over power to the black majority.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
