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
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concedernoun
-
preconcedeverb (used with object)
-
concessibleadjective
-
unconcedingadjective
-
concededlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
concedesimple
-
concedessimple
-
have concededperfect
-
has concededperfect
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am concedingprogressive
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are concedingprogressive
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is concedingprogressive
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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:
“Any further strength here and you would have to concede a new leg higher for the space.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
That is an eyebrow-raising figure, people like Paul Elton concede, but one they argue is reasonable.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The vote proved too close to call on Tuesday evening, but by Wednesday morning, El-Sayed had claimed the win, and Stevens had phoned him to concede.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
And on this point, the Norwegians are willing to concede that they are underdogs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
After years of riding the range, she was no longer smooth-complexioned. concede.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Even the abolitionist Death Penalty Information Center concedes that “there is no way to tell how many of the … people executed since 1976 may … have been innocent.”
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nvidia’s statement concedes that “once released, the weights are beyond the original developer’s control, and modified versions are difficult to trace or reverse”—then brushes this concern aside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Hickman, reached by email by MarketWatch, concedes that he is not sure.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Having been enjoyably candid about his goals for the summer - smashing a 27-year-old standard and winning Games gold - Kerr concedes there is relief about following word with deed.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
“There are many paths to God,” concedes Mother Ermentrude.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
“We’re not all going to agree on everything,” Crowley conceded to Politico on Thursday.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
The hope is to stop counter-attacks being conceded at source through intense counter-presses, something that is helped by attacking down the sides and with extra bodies nearby to apply pressure.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Our physician father finally conceded that tonic water—thanks to drops of quinine—might not be a completely worthless mix of food coloring and empty calories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Zaslav conceded Warner Bros. would release fewer films this year than initially anticipated because some weren’t ready for audiences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“It’s good of them to warn us,” Shoba conceded after reading the notice aloud, more for her own benefit than Shukumar’s.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Max , 32, chuckled Wednesday when informed of that wisecrack, conceding that he’s got some pretty stiff competition in his family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He played every minute of the 2023 Under-21 European Championship as England won the title for the first time in 39 years without conceding a single goal.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said he was "deeply sorry", conceding that "the information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
If IBM can’t tell investors what the next two quarters look like, it’s conceding it doesn’t know when its customers will come back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
After more than three centuries of rule, the white minority was conceding defeat and turning over power to the black majority.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
