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
-
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:
Leeds don't concede goals as freely any more.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Clubs without the same expectation, like Brentford, Leeds and Hull, can concede possession and have built squads for that style.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The Romanian filmmaker’s stoic drama is designed to provoke viewers in opposite directions, snaring them in waiting traps and causing them to concede in agony, “You have a point!”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
By July it was 88%, and officials concede a gasoline shortfall of nearly 4 million gallons a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
I look at him and concede with a little smile.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
They concedes that "there is more to do, but we are determined to return cancer performance to the standards people rightly expect".
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
He concedes that he “kind of went crazy for a little while” in snapping up shoes, owns hundreds of pairs, and it has become a bit of an issue at his Manhattan Beach home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Antlers are used all the time, she concedes, but in “a new and fresh way.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Though he contends he never meant to send a message silencing those who would expose wrongdoing, he concedes that did happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Perhaps,” his father concedes, glancing briefly in Gogol’s direction.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
While he conceded the AI investment boom would drive prices up in the short term, he felt there was a "huge benefit" to the global economy on the horizon.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
After the hearing, she conceded that “there are a lot of unanswered questions.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
The New Zealander also conceded he would have to rotate his squad for the T20 leg, given England's schedule in a busy winter of five separate overseas tours.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Vara conceded that any AI-detection product, "including one as good of Pangram" was "not going to be 100% accurate".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Yes, he’s a good boy,” conceded Francie, “but even if he was bad, you wouldn’t notice it. But where I’m concerned...” her voice went ragged on a sob.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
India bowlers Krishna and Naman Dhir picked up injuries while paceman Auqib Nabi had a debut to forget - conceding 84 runs, the fourth-most by an Indian winning his first ODI cap.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
There is one conclusion to draw from that statistic: It is becoming increasingly urgent for Alonso to stop Chelsea from conceding.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The German had won all five of their previous matchups, on three different surfaces, while conceding just one set.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
In the third set, both players remained on serve without conceding a single break point to reach another tie-break.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
When I persisted in my carping to the economists, they generally backed down a bit, conceding that while wages at the bottom are going up, they’re not going up very briskly.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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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.
