concessionaire

American  

[kuhn-sesh-uh-nair] / kənˌsɛʃ əˈnɛər /

Also concessioner

noun

1. a person, group, or company to whom a concession has been granted, especially to operate a subsidiary business or service.

   a popcorn concessionaire at a baseball park.

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concessionaire British  

/ kənˌsɛʃəˈnɛə, kənˈsɛʃənə /

noun

1. someone who holds or operates a concession

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Other Word Forms

• subconcessionaire
  noun
• subconcessioner
  noun

Etymology

Origin of concessionaire

From the French word concessionnaire, dating back to 1860–65. See concession, -aire

Example Sentences

Anna Aulick was working the clerk’s window in the late 1950s when she met Albert Reynolds, a Standard Oil concessionaire from Montreal.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025

In a public letter, he asked the federal agency to “take immediate action to prevent concessionaire mismanagement from continuing to threaten Crater Lake National Park, its visitors, or the employees who live and work there.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2024

"The concessionaire is getting another 35 years to manage that railway, thus he also has another 35 years to amortize the unamortized assets. So why is he deducting that sum from the concession payment?"

From Reuters • Nov. 13, 2023

Gustavo Martinez, 56, said he lost his job as a concessionaire for spring-training baseball games during the early days of the pandemic, and he lost his subleased apartment a few months later.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2023

“When this is gone, we’ll pay the concessionaire for it. He’s a worker like anybody else,” he said.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende