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

• cough up
• deliver
• give up
• hand over
• lay down
• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• turn in
• turn over
• yield

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

Resembling an arena football squad, the Broncos ceded 15 yards per pass completion and 8.1 yards per rush. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2023

Hong Kong’s international airport, the busiest in Asia before the pandemic, has ceded that title to regional competitors in Seoul and Bangkok. —Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023

Her colleague Chris Hayes is taking up similar duties, and ceding his Monday-night responsibilities on the network to a new program led by Jen Psaki. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 19 Sep. 2023

Costello also would cede a precinct in the south of Upton to Bullock’s District 9 and a section of the Baltimore Peninsula area to Porter’s District 10. —Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 18 Sep. 2023

By the summer of 2013, the regime had ceded control of most of northern Syria. —Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023

Standing in front of a roaring crowd, the Vanguard recipient shouted out her native Colombia before ceding the mic to her compatriot. —Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023

McCord ceded only six snaps to Brown in the season opener at Indiana. —Nathan Baird, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2023

When the Ojibwe were forced to cede much of their Wisconsin territory to the United States in the 1800s and move onto reservations, the tribal leaders at the time chose places that had significant wild rice beds. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 7 Sep. 2023

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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

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