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
-
am concedingprogressive
-
are concedingprogressive
-
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:
“We don’t think it’s a bluff,” said Citrini in its report, but it did concede Bessent understands the value of an ability to scare investors into doing his job for him.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Could Alvarez also concede defeat in his efforts to leave Atleti this summer and attempt to mend what appears to be a broken relationship with the club and its supporters?
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Some AfD officials concede the campaign may have been a distraction and have quietly reached out to Steiner with assurances that her funding is secure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Lindell lost by 11 points to the Minnesota house speaker, Lisa Demuth, but did not graciously concede.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Pollard went right ahead and lied to reporters, telling them the barn strategy was to concede the lead to War Admiral and then try to run him down in the homestretch.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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
Hickman, reached by email by MarketWatch, concedes that he is not sure.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
An ally concedes: "He has that strong sense of self – but it does waver sometimes."
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
At the end of the day, however, he only concerns himself with what happens within the four walls of his business and concedes that “the vast majority of parents are very responsible.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
This tendency is what led Frederick Douglass to declare that “power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will.”
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
He conceded the announcement will mean "hundreds" more people stay in prison, meaning additional space will need to be found in a system that is more than 97% full in England and Wales.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
While it won the case, because the commission conceded before a full hearing, the court did not have to make a ruling on the wider grounds of the challenge.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
However, Bessent conceded, he wasn’t doing this now—only firing a “warning shot,” saying what would happen if those entities didn’t pull back.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ladd also conceded he had no evidence Davis ordered any shootings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
His mouth fell open and he conceded a step.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
The only variable is how much they spend before conceding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
UCLA’s run defense ranked 18th worst in the nation last season, conceding 190.4 yards per game, while JMU’s unit ranked fifth best, allowing just 85.1 yards per contest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
I’ve been wrestling with Jason Statham for a decade and I’m finally conceding defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
They are top of the table after two opening Scottish Premiership wins having defeated Falkirk and now St Johnstone without conceding.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
In private, C.P. was considering conceding on the issue, just to move the program forward.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
