concession

American  

[kuhn-sesh-uhn] / kənˈsɛʃ ən /

noun

concessions plural

1. the act of conceding or yielding, as a right, a privilege, or a point or fact in an argument.

   He made no concession to caution.

2. the thing or point yielded.

   Management offered a shorter workweek as a concession.

3. something conceded by a government or a controlling authority, as a grant of land, a privilege, or a franchise.

4. a space or privilege within certain premises for a subsidiary business or service.

   the refreshment concession at a movie theater.

5. Canadian. any of the usually sixteen divisions of a township, each division being 10 sq. mi. (26 sq. km) in area and containing thirty-two 200-acre lots.

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concession British  

/ kənˈsɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of yielding or conceding, as to a demand or argument

2. something conceded

3. a reduction in the usual price of a ticket granted to a special group of customers

   a student concession

4. any grant of rights, land, or property by a government, local authority, corporation, or individual

5. the right, esp an exclusive right, to market a particular product in a given area

6. 1. the right to maintain a subsidiary business on a lessor's premises

   2. the premises so granted or the business so maintained

   3. a free rental period for such premises

7. 1. a land subdivision in a township survey

   2. another name for concession road

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconcession
  noun
• preconcession
  noun
• subconcession
  noun
• concessible
  adjective
• concessional
  adjective
• proconcession
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• concessions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of concession

First recorded in 1605–15; 1910–15 concession for def. 4; from Latin concēssiōn- (stem of concēssiō ), equivalent to concēss(us) (past participle of concēdere ”to concede ”) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

The noun concession comes in handy in negotiations — between countries, political parties, or even parents and their kids. Want a raise in your allowance? You may have to agree to do more chores as a concession before your parents will agree. Although a concession in an argument is the act of yielding or granting something, don't get confused and think that a concession stand is called that because the workers are granting you popcorn at the baseball stadium. Concessions at a ballpark or at another venue are called that because the stadium has granted the right to sell food to a certain provider. Chew on that the next time you're munching on peanuts at a game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concession concessions

They likewise give no concession to the idea that the public has an interest in knowing where justices go, what they say, or who paid their way.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

For days the Scots would have worked on getting off to a solid start following their early concession against Morocco.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

However, that concession has not yet been acknowledged by Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported External link.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Vice President JD Vance said Iranian officials had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors back into their country as early as this week, which would be a significant concession by Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Mr. Jacobs, terror on his face, raised his arms up in a sign of concession, but then lowered them and tried to push everyone away when he saw things spiraling out of control.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Paramount has offered concessions to clear antitrust review in Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

“As a result, new issues need to come with meaningful concessions to compensate investors for adding incremental exposure.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

One of her concessions was to agree to a new route through southwestern British Columbia, as opposed to her earlier bid to build a pipeline to the northern Pacific coast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Modella sweetened the deal with several concessions, which convinced British Land to drop its opposition.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

The few strikes these weak unions dared to attempt won no concessions, and usually resulted in the dismissal of strikers and their nonstriking family members.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• acknowledgment
• admission
• compromise
• deal
• grant
• permit
• privilege