secede
Americanverb (used without object)
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secedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
seceded,
past participle, past
-
seceding
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
secedesimple
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secedessimple
-
have secededperfect
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has secededperfect
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am secedingprogressive
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are secedingprogressive
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is secedingprogressive
-
have been secedingperfect progressive
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has been secedingperfect progressive
Past
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secededsimple
-
had secededperfect
-
was secedingprogressive
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were secedingprogressive
-
had been secedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of secede
First recorded in 1695–1705, secede is from the Latin word sēcēdere to withdraw. See se-, cede
Explanation
To secede is to go your own way, breaking off ties. Usually, this refers to one part of a country that wants to become independent, like the South during the U.S. Civil War. The Latin word secedere means “go apart” and that's where secede comes from. Don't confuse it with the much more common succeed. Your plan to secede from the state of New Jersey and found a kingdom named Rusty, after your dog, is not likely to succeed.
Vocabulary lists containing secede
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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The American Civil War
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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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:
Tuesday's ballot paper asked residents to respond either yes or no to the statement: "I support Piddington seeking to secede from the United Kingdom and pursuing self-determination."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
It’s not that Greenlanders don’t want to secede from Denmark—they just don’t want to become a U.S. state in turn.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2025
Ron Kaye, a longtime Los Angeles Daily News editor known for civically inspired muckraking and boosting the San Fernando Valley — including a failed bid for the Valley to secede from L.A. — has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2024
In 1896, barely seven years after statehood, some Eastern Washington residents were already looking to secede from their western counterparts.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
A firm believer in the Union, Jackson rejected the idea that states could secede for any reason.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
If Scotland secedes, the UK itself could be the next to change what it calls itself.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 30, 2016
By a popular referendum attended by some 80 percent of eligible state voters, Maloney’s Texas secedes on April 1, 2013.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2013
Q. Will the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans still be eligible to play in the NFL once Texas secedes from the United States?
From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2013
It is a countdown to January 9th, the day a referendum is scheduled to decide whether the southern part of this country secedes from the north and becomes its own nation.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2010
If Virginia stands by the old Union so will I. But if she secedes, then I shall follow my native state with my sword, and, if need be with my life.
From Historic Papers on the Causes of the Civil War by Eugenia Dunlap Potts
Ethiopia, the world's most populous landlocked nation, lost access to them when Eritrea seceded in 1993.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Texas became a U.S. state in 1845 and seceded from the union to join the Confederacy at the start of the Civil War.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Fifteen years earlier, civil war had broken out when 11 states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
In December, Israel became the first to recognise Somaliland's independence since it seceded from Somalia in 1991, drawing angry condemnation from the federal government in Mogadishu, even though it has been self-governing for 35 years.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
“Down south, Katanga Province. The new nation of Katanga, I should say. Did you know Katanga has seceded from the Congo?”
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
A handful of townspeople now mutter about seceding from the local council area, echoing a widening harrumph of displeasure with the various layers of government in Britain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
South Sudan, the world's newest nation, gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2025
“Texas has talked about seceding for a long time,” Ms. Haley said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
“We are competing in a global marketplace, and if we don’t make sure we are creating and building the technology of the future, we are seceding our leadership and mobility in transportation,” Ms. Dingell said.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2023
He had heard talk of tariffs, of slave states and free ones, of a violent old man named John Brown, and during the past winter, of states seceding from the Union.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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.
