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

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”

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

The scheme is causing concern, with thousands of people signing a petition against it, due to fears it could harm neighbouring wildlife sites.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

See more: Micron, Nvidia and AI chip stocks fall as report on OpenAI’s revenue causes ‘undue concern’

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

It is different outside biotech, where companies including health-tech concern Oura have postponed IPOs because they couldn’t command the terms they were seeking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Schiff said one of his constituents, identified only as Doug, wrote him a letter expressing concern about conditions aboard the ship after his son was medically evacuated due to a collapsed lung.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

All the friendliness, the kindly concern that I had half-believed in—all a device to elicit information.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The quarantine arrangements have also raised concerns among some healthcare workers, amid questions about how the patient was handled at Nairobi Hospital.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

There are also concerns it could be too easy to circumvent checks in the fledgling initiatives, and pass off AI-produced books as human-written.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The pilot had been barred from flying at Oman Air over concerns that he harbored extremist ideology, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Mattel shares had fallen more than 35% this year on concerns about how it planned to drive growth, before rebounding more than 30% recently amid reports of a potential takeover bid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

“I believe this is the first I have heard of the plan to actually go into the forest. And I did bring up my concerns immediately upon hearing of our destination.”

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

Only 28% of white Republicans said they were concerned about a mostly Asian campus, while 21% worried about a mostly white one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

They welcomed the work's completion but some are concerned the criminal gangs may return to dump waste.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

"There are farmers really flailing away" and drastically concerned about fuel costs, Joe Logan, interim president of the Ohio Farmers Union, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

When a patient has taken one of these tests, the main thing it tells her is that they’re concerned about their health enough to order and take a test themselves.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

While she was on board with the goal of the mission, it was its spur-of-the-moment quality that concerned her.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

But instead of concerning ourselves with measuring our cortisol, she advised thinking instead of what might affect it, and making adjustments there.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

There have also been letters to Sir Chris from members of the Protestant community concerning Garvaghy Road, external, a group of MPs, external and Members of Congress in the US, external.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

“The bigger question is, would we really be able to trust them to provide truthful information concerning the event even if they do decide to elaborate further?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

When his symptoms became especially concerning one day, he went to the Emergency Department.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

Before play began, there were mixed emotions, conflicting speculations, and assorted reactions throughout the chess world concerning the match.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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