concede
Americanverb (used with object)
-
concedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conceded,
past participle, past
-
conceding
present participle
-
to acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit.
He finally conceded that she was right.
- Synonyms:
- grant
- Antonyms:
- deny
-
to acknowledge (an opponent's victory, score, etc.) before it is officially established.
to concede an election before all the votes are counted.
-
to grant as a right or privilege; yield.
to concede a longer vacation for all employees.
- Antonyms:
- refuse
verb (used without object)
-
concedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conceded,
past participle, past
-
conceding
present participle
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to admit or acknowledge (something) as true or correct
-
to yield or allow (something, such as a right)
-
(tr) to admit as certain in outcome
to concede an election
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
concedernoun
-
preconcedeverb (used with object)
-
concessibleadjective
-
unconcedingadjective
-
concededlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
concedesimple
-
concedessimple
-
have concededperfect
-
has concededperfect
-
am concedingprogressive
-
are concedingprogressive
-
is concedingprogressive
-
have been concedingperfect progressive
-
has been concedingperfect progressive
Past
-
concededsimple
-
had concededperfect
-
was concedingprogressive
-
were concedingprogressive
-
had been concedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of concede
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin concēdere, equivalent to con- con- + cēdere “to withdraw, yield”; see cede
Explanation
If you concede something, you admit that it is true, proper, or certain — usually in an unwilling way and often in the context of a competition, as in "At midnight, the candidate finally conceded defeat." In its most common senses, a near synonym of concede is acknowledge — if your mom is pointing out that you need sleep before the test, you should concede the truth of what she's saying. But another meaning of concede is to give away or grant something, as when an unpopular leader is unwilling to concede power. Concede is from Latin concēdere, from the prefix com-, "completely," plus cēdere, "to go along, grant, yield." The corresponding noun is concession.
Vocabulary lists containing concede
List 1
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Cabrera did not return emails seeking comment, and Veres said she had not called to concede.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
Bass called Raman on Thursday to concede, after the latest numbers showed Raman with 52 percent of the vote against the outgoing mayor's 48 percent, with three-quarters of votes counted.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
“You would instead concede that dogs are unpredictable, so it was dumb to attach something dangerous to one.”
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
Minutes later, England were lucky not to concede a similar try when a pass bisected Jess Breach and Jones, who pounced on the ball just before Lizzie Gibson got to it.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Negro life in America was a never-ending series of negotiations: when to fight and when to concede.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
"Looking at the spatial distribution of the seeping, it became instantly obvious to me that there was something volcanic behind it, but it had to be demonstrated," concedes Daniel.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
Brewers World Series pitcher Logan Henderson grew up cheering for the Astros, but he reluctantly concedes their cheating scandal alters the 2017 title.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
However, the document concedes this is likely to require co-ordination with other countries, adding that the government was considering how its proposals compare to equivalent regimes internationally.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The FTC concedes as much, stating in its August enforcement bulletin that “the extent to which businesses currently use personalized pricing is not well understood, and the effects of personalized pricing on consumers are unclear.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Gorgias concedes, “No: the definition seems to me very fair, Socrates; for persuasion is the chief end of rhetoric.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
“Maybe my odds at the beginning were, I had to flip a coin and have it come up heads three times in a row,” he conceded.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2026
The name, location and period made a fascinating potential connection, the company said, but conceded they did not know for certain that the two were linked.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
State Sen. Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach, who conceded his race for reelection this week, is the name most prominently mentioned as a potential successor to Rankin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
Hyde-Smith, in office since 2018, conceded the race in a video posted to X.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026
“Yes, I suppose it is odious,” he conceded with reluctance.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim declared victory Friday in the race to be California’s next insurance commissioner, with veteran legislator Ben Allen conceding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2026
The Eagles have won just two of their opening 10 games and also have the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 24 goals.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has declared his right-wing coalition secured a mandate to form the next government -- while conceding results remained too close to call definitively.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
The home side were again guilty of conceding possession from the restart, but prop Nicky Smith produced an important turnover on his own line to help Wales lead by seven points at half-time.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Now here was Gottlieb, conceding a potentially catastrophic error.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
