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

On 9/11, he was in the North Tower lobby, about to head up to work, when he decided to stop at an optometrist’s shop in the street-level concourse to get his reading glasses fixed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

In that case, you will likely find yourself traveling to or from the concourse on a wretched holdover of mid-century transportation design: the people mover.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

When the Stars and Stripes’ clash with Australia kicked off last week, there wasn’t a single person in line at the “Cityside” concession stand on the concourse behind the Australian goal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Despite taking shelter in the concourse for the whole of the delay, most supporters looked as though they stayed with the stadium appearing full again upon the restart.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

When they got to the music concourse, the jazz was already in full swing.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

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

During the interval the skies opened further, while spectators were told to seek shelter in the stadium concourses.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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

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