concourse

American  

[kon-kawrs, -kohrs, kong-] / ˈkɒn kɔrs, -koʊrs, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

• concourses
  plural

1. an assemblage; gathering.

   a concourse of people.

2. a driveway or promenade, especially in a park.

3. a boulevard or other broad thoroughfare.

4. a large open space for accommodating crowds, as in a railroad station.

5. an area or grounds for racing, athletic sports, etc.

6. an act or instance of running or coming together; confluence.

   a concourse of events.

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concourse British  

/ ˈkɒnkɔːs, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

1. a crowd; throng

2. a coming together; confluence

   a concourse of events

3. a large open space for the gathering of people in a public place

4. a ground for sports, racing, athletics, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• concourses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of concourse

1350–1400; Middle English concours < Middle French; replacing Middle English concurs < Latin concursus assembly, verbal noun corresponding to concurrere to assemble, collide. See concur, course

Explanation

The wide, open area that's either inside or in front of a building is called a concourse. A concourse is often located where many paths or hallways meet. Many kinds of buildings have a concourse, including train stations, airports, hotels, and shopping malls. Concourses are large enough for many people to congregate there — and this crowd or gathering of people can also be called a concourse. A movie star visiting a small city might find himself surrounded by a huge concourse of fans asking for autographs. The Latin root is concursus, "a running together," and the word's original sense was "the flowing of a crowd of people."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concourse concourses

But the Aerotrain designers did not see fit to extend the line to concourse D, in part because both C and D were built in the ’80s as temporary concourses meant to be replaced.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Reportedly, doors will open for guests at 3:30 p.m. for a cocktail reception at 4 p.m. on the sixth-floor concourse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Argentina fans shook the concourse of AT&T Stadium and were still at it, bouncing up and down, an hour later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Were they having a gargle on the concourse as Achraf Hakimi - right-back one minute, left winger the next - was making us wonder how many of him were actually out there?

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

A clamoring tide of people filled the concourse.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Like most large international airports, Dulles has an internal train line to carry people from the terminal to the various concourses and back.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

New concourses, expanded corridors and improved passenger facilities have reshaped the transit hub, which serves hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers each day and remains the busiest rail station in the United States.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

The approximately 70,000 spectators, many already in ponchos and rain coats, filed out and, in little more than 15 minutes, the concourses of "the Linc" resembled a huge train station on a holiday travel day.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Fifa says numerous empty seats were visible in the near-sell-out Group A match between South Korea and the Czech Republic because of fans remaining on concourses.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Shoppers walked around us on the concourses, their mouths moving, talking to people who weren’t there.

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• foyer
• lounge