cede

verb

ˈsēd 

ceded; ceding

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

ceder noun

Did you know?

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.

Synonyms

• relinquish
• surrender
• render

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

Democrats have accused their Republican colleagues of ceding that power to the president with measures like the recent spending cuts, as well as a sweeping tax, spending and policy bill passed earlier in July at Trump's urging. —Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 19 July 2025

In court filings, Pryor anticipated, and attempted to quell, the timing problem by arguing he was required to cede control of his NIL in perpetuity. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 19 July 2025

The new instalment will be the first James Bond movie without the direct involvement of the Broccoli family, following Barbara Broccoli and half-brother Michael G. Wilson’s unexpected decision to cede control of the franchise to Amazon MGM Studios in February. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 17 July 2025

Failing to do so could cede ground to fintech players who are looking to recreate elements of the regulated financial ecosystem, Dimon said Tuesday. —Hugh Son, CNBC, 15 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French or Latin; French céder, borrowed from Latin cēdere "to go, move away, withdraw, yield," perhaps, if derived from an originally transitive meaning "drive away," akin to Sanskrit sedhati "(she/he) chases away," Avestan siiazdat "will chase away"

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cede

• bead
• bleed
• brede
• breed
• creed
• deed
• feed
• freed
• greed
• heed
• keyed
• knead

Kids Definition

cede

verb

ˈsēd 

ceded; ceding

: to give up especially by treaty

Russia ceded Alaska to the U.S. in 1867

Legal Definition

cede

transitive verb

ˈsēd 

ceded; ceding

1

: to yield or grant usually by treaty

2

: assign, transfer

3

: to transfer (all or part of one's liability as an insurer under an insurance policy) by reinsurance to another insurer