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 of cede

• 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

National space agencies like NASA and Roscosmos appear to have ceded all ground to Helios and Kuragin. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026

Having already ceded an even-strength tally and a man-advantage marker, the Ducks collected the entire set of goals against by allowing one shorthanded. —Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 8 Apr. 2026

The other option is to ask Districts 2 and 3 commissioners to cede their corresponding areas into the incorporation efforts, Kilpatrick said. —Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2026

Additionally, as Dax Shepard argued on his Armchair Expert podcast during the strikes in 2023, trying to preserve human labor could backfire and cede creative ground to other countries that are willing to better embrace the technology. —Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026

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