cede

verb

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\ ˈsēd

ceded; ceding

Definition of cede

transitive verb

1 : to yield or grant typically by treaty Russia ceded Alaska to the U.S. in 1867.

2 : assign, transfer ceded his stock holdings to his children

Other Words from cede Synonyms Do you cede or seed control? Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about cede

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Do you cede or seed control?

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.

Did You Know?

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.

Examples of cede in a Sentence

Russia ceded Alaska to the U.S. in 1867. she reluctantly ceded her position as leader

Recent Examples on the Web With the ascension of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, however, the kingdom has been more willing to lure foreign investors and cede some control over its oil industry in exchange for cash. — Ben Dummett, WSJ, "Aramco Weighs Selling Stake in Oil Pipelines for More Than $10 Billion," 6 Apr. 2021 Democrats have a two-year window to either pass laws to change the voting system or cede power for a decade, many Democratic activists say. — David Lauter, Star Tribune, "Parties at war over basis of U.S. democracy: Voting," 5 Mar. 2021 Democrats have a two-year window to either pass laws to change the voting system or cede power for a decade, many Democratic activists say. — Los Angeles Times, "House passes landmark election bill as parties war over voting rights," 3 Mar. 2021 But the aggressive push to integrate operations and the brisk pace of change is stirring tensions and sowing discontent among many doctors and hospital leaders who feel disenfranchised as they are forced to cede control to the corporate office. — BostonGlobe.com, "At Mass General Brigham, a sweeping effort to unify hospitals and shed old rivalries," 27 Mar. 2021 But so do cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, who are not keen to cede control of the data-handling business. — The Economist, "Schumpeter America’s drowsy telecom giants face a 5G wake-up call," 18 Mar. 2021 Giving additional enhancement would also mean the OEMs will cede even more control of their order books to lessors (this trend has continued and increased significantly lately with more than 30% new orders going to lessors). — David Yu, Forbes, "Aviation Will See More M&A And Consolidation, Especially Aircraft Leasing," 12 Mar. 2021 Over the past year and a half, Walker had begun to cede some of his playing time to the younger, more athletically gifted Bobby Okereke. — Jim Ayello, The Indianapolis Star, "Colts lose long-time starting LB Anthony Walker to Browns in free agency," 20 Mar. 2021 Clear skies keep the sun on full display, but cool air is slow to cede ground. — Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Wet today and stormy tonight, then very blustery on Friday," 18 Mar. 2021

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.