concern

American  

[kuhn-surn] / kənˈsɜrn /

verb (used with object)

• concerns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concerned,
  past participle,  past
• concerning
  present participle

1. to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect.

   The water shortage concerns us all.

   Synonyms:

   involve, touch

2. to interest or engage (used reflexively or in the passive, often followed by with orin ).

   She concerns herself with every aspect of the business.

3. to trouble, worry, or disquiet.

   I am concerned about his health.

   Synonyms:

   disturb

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noun

• concerns
  plural

1. something that relates or pertains to a person; business; affair.

   Law is the concern of lawyers.

2. a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness.

   The party was no concern of his.

   Synonyms:

   responsibility, burden

3. worry, solicitude, or anxiety.

   to show concern for someone in trouble.

   Antonyms:

   indifference

4. important relation or bearing.

   This news is of concern to all of us.

5. a commercial or manufacturing company or establishment.

   the headquarters of an insurance concern.

   Synonyms:

   house, firm

6. Informal. any material object or contrivance.

concern British  

/ kənˈsɜːn /

verb

1. to relate to; be of importance or interest to; affect

2. to involve or interest (oneself)

   he concerns himself with other people's affairs

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noun

1. something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business

2. regard for or interest in a person or a thing

   he felt a strong concern for her

3. anxiety, worry, or solicitude

4. important bearing or relation

   his news has great concern for us

5. a commercial company or enterprise

6. informal a material thing, esp one of which one has a low opinion

concern Idioms  

1. see as far as that goes (is concerned); to whom it may concern.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of concern? Concern means to relate to or to affect, to interest or engage, or to worry. Concern also has several senses as a noun. If an issue or problem concerns someone, it means that it involves them or will affect them personally.

• Real-life examples: The price of gas concerns drivers. Stock market prices concern investors. Global warming concerns everyone.
• Used in a sentence: Our conversation doesn’t concern you, so leave us alone. 

As a noun, this sense of concern means something that is closely related to something else or something that is a main focus.

• Used in a sentence: Fires are the concern of the fire department. 

Concern can also mean to interest someone or draw their attention. In this sense, it is often followed by with or in.

• Real-life examples: You might concern yourself with your friend’s problem because you care about them. When you’re taking a test, your teacher might remind students to be concerned only with their own papers. Your parents concern themselves with your health.
• Used in a sentence: Chuck doesn’t concern himself with other people’s problems. 

Concern is used as a noun in this sense to mean a matter or issue that a person cares about.

• Used in a sentence: What my neighbors do to their lawn is no concern of mine. 

Lastly, concern means to worry or cause anxiety.

• Real-life examples: You might be concerned about your grades. Politicians are often concerned about whether voters will keep voting for them. Your friend might be concerned about whether you both make the basketball team.
• Used in a sentence: Her brother’s failing health really concerns Joelene,  and she has been losing sleep over it. 

As a noun, concern is a synonym of words such as worry or anxiety.

• Used in a sentence: We try to ease parents’ concern by showing them that the school is completely safe and monitored. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overconcern
  noun
• preconcern
  noun
• self-concern
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• concerns
  plural

Participles

• concerning
  present
• concerned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• concern
  simple
• concerns
  simple
• have concerned
  perfect
• has concerned
  perfect
• am concerning
  progressive
• are concerning
  progressive
• is concerning
  progressive
• have been concerning
  perfect progressive
• has been concerning
  perfect progressive

Past

• concerned
  simple
• had concerned
  perfect
• was concerning
  progressive
• were concerning
  progressive
• had been concerning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will concern
  simple
• will have concerned
  perfect
• will be concerning
  progressive
• will have been concerning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of concern

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English concernen, from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernere “to relate to, distinguish,” from Late Latin: “to mix for sifting,” from Latin con- con- + cernere “to decide, separate, sift”

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Explanation

Concern is both a noun and a verb. As a noun it's something that you find particularly important. If you love pizza, getting the crust just so is a major concern during your pizza party. Concern can also be something or someone that makes you upset or anxious, like your concern over the quality of the pizza crust. It can be a feeling of sympathy, like when your mom expresses concern over your obsession with pizza crust. As a verb, concern means to be relevant to something. Your main goal today may concern studying for your math test. Concern can also describe worry. When you stay out past curfew, your mom will be concerned.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concern concerns concerned concerning

“My concern is whose interests the AI agent serves when Amazon’s revenue goals and the advertiser’s business goals diverge.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The two were considered allies who shared homelessness as their top concern in the city, with Bass leading from her executive office and Raman chairing the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Speaking to Slate in her office the day before, she often deflected criticism of administration policies on key issues—noting that she raised concern with key stakeholders.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

"The primary concern is for the patient, but it is not very nice for a clinician to have to do that over and over again."

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Guardian must sense my waves of concern because she says, “You were built to be able to handle this, Resilience. Run through your system’s instructions. You can get yourself unstuck.”

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Oil prices dropped more than 3% on Monday as renewed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran eased concerns over Middle East oil supplies, reversing some of last week’s gains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Major French retailers said on October 12 that hundreds of store refrigeration systems were hit by a cyberattack, which also forced them to toss food and raised concerns about food security.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Vincent's comments highlight concerns about whether the research received appropriate consideration during the development of national recommendations.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

MarketWatch’s Claudia Assis explores the risks and rewards the state faces and the community concerns that are being raised.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

He answered their concerns one by one, enumerating their rights and explaining how to wring justice out of various government agencies.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

And she was particularly concerned about children on e-bikes being "exploited" by hardened criminals.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

“I’m concerned about some of the reactions to my recent essay on model welfare,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Others including 48-year-old vendor Ebrahim saw no reason to be concerned.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Still, Wall Street has remained concerned about Big Tech’s super-sized spending plans on AI.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026

He was young and fit, with thick, dark hair and handsome features, but his appearance was overshadowed by his concerned expression—mouth ever poised to frown, eyebrows ever ready to rise.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

While side effects are common with many treatments, researchers have identified a particularly concerning possibility involving drugs used to control inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

The index rose particularly strongly in manufacturing, with a jump in sentiment among companies concerning both their current situation and expectations for the future.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The concerning crack is near the Moro Beach section of Crystal Cove.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

The proximity of the spill to this area is the "most concerning environmental angle", according to Eoghan Darbyshire, a scientist at the Conflict and Environment Observatory.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

"These aren't questions you should be concerning yourself with."

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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Related Words

• care
• concernment
• consideration
• heed
• interest
• regard
• solicitousness
• solicitude

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