Russia ceded Alaska to the U.S. in 1867.
she reluctantly ceded her position as leader
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cede.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Cede means "to yield or grant typically by treaty." Most of the verb senses of seed are concerned with planting seeds (either literal, as of plants, or figuratively, as of ideas). However, the word may also be used to mean "to schedule (tournament players or teams) so that superior ones will not meet in early rounds." If you relinquish or yield something you are ceding it, and if you are organizing the participants in a tournament you are seeding them.
Cede is often a formal term used in discussing territory and rights, but is also used less formally. So, for example, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. in 1898, following the Spanish-American War, and the U.S. ceded control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999. Critics warn that we are ceding leadership in alternative-energy technology to China. Citizens of one European country or another are always worrying that their own country is ceding too much power to the European Union. A tennis player doesn't have any choice when she cedes her no. 1 ranking to a rival.
bequeath, hand down, leave, pass (down), will;
bestow, commend, commit, confer, contribute, deliver, donate, grant, hand over, move, pass, present, release, relinquish, surrender, transmit, turn in, turn over, vest, yield;
dispose of;
: to give control of (something) to another person, group, government, etc.
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cede Spanish Central: Translation of cede Nglish: Translation of cede for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of cede for Arabic speakers
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