concede

play

verb con·cede \kən-ˈsēd\

Definition of concede

conceded

;

conceding

transitive verb
1 : to grant as a right or privilege Britain conceded the independence of the colonies.
2a : to accept as true, valid, or accurate The right of the state to tax is generally conceded.b (1) : to acknowledge grudgingly or hesitantly conceded that it might be a good idea (2) : to relinquish grudgingly or hesitantly concede power
intransitive verb
: to make concession : yield

concededly

play \kən-ˈsē-dəd-lē\ adverb

conceder

noun

See concede defined for English-language learners

See concede defined for kids

Examples of concede in a Sentence

… he conceded that with six kids, something like this was bound to happen. At least one of them had to be a bad egg. —Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, 2005
… it was generally conceded that Caepio, if and when tried for treason under the present system, would be acquitted. —Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, (1990) 1991
… after listening to Tom, he conceded that there were some conspicuous advantages about a life of crime, and so he consented to be a pirate. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
I concede that the work has been slow so far, but it should speed up soon.
“Your plan might work,” she conceded, “but I still think mine is better.”
Although it seems clear that he has lost the election, he still refuses to concede.
He's not ready to concede the election.
The former ruler was forced to concede power to a new government.
The company says that workers are not conceding enough in negotiations.

Recent Examples of concede from the Web

Because slavery was the cause for which Lee fought, he could hardly be expected to easily concede, even at the cost of the freedom of his own men, that blacks could be treated as soldiers and not things.

— adam serwer, The Atlantic, "The Myth of the Kindly General Lee", 4 June 2017
Anthony Wells, director of the political and social research team works in YouGov's London office, conceded this in a blog post published Thursday.

— adam taylor, Washington Post, "A polling shift suggests Britain’s election may be more exciting — and unpredictable — than expected", 2 June 2017
Beyond the commission error that Uber has conceded, The New York Times has reported that the company may have improperly deducted the entire sales tax from New York drivers’ earnings.

— noam scheiber, New York Times, "Uber Says It Just Noticed Error on Pay, but It Was No Secret", 1 June 2017
There’s something to that, as anyone noting all the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche rides in Hollywood and Manhattan will have to concede.

— david mchugh, The Seattle Times, "What’s behind the German trade surplus angering Trump?", 31 May 2017
But while policies addressing many of these issues have succeeded before, even Kudrin concedes the chances of Putin adopting his entire package are remote.

— evgenia pismennaya, Bloomberg.com, "Even After 'Lost Decade' Putin Isn't Ready to Fix the Economy", 31 May 2017
American officials conceded that the failure to capture Noriega severely complicated U.S. attempts to stabilize the situation.

— by martin merzer and sam dillon, miamiherald, "How the U.S. invaded Panama in search of dictator Manuel Noriega", 31 May 2017
Andy Green conceded the gun may have been a little hot when the Nationals Park scoreboard flashed 100 mph on Brandon Maurer’s four-seamer Sunday afternoon.

— jeff sanders, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Brandon Maurer could look inside more to turn his luck around", 29 May 2017
The Cavaliers basically conceded the East's top seed to the Celtics at the end of the regular season by opting to rest their starters in advance of the playoffs.

— kyle hightower, chicagotribune.com, "Cavaliers back in NBA Finals after 135-102 win over Celtics in Game 5", 25 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'concede'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

After the votes have been counted, one candidate traditionally concedes the election to his or her opponent by giving a concession speech. If you're lucky, your boss will concede that she was wrong the last time she criticized you. But in the middle of an argument, we're not all so good at conceding that the other guy might have a good point.

Origin and Etymology of concede

French or Latin; French concéder, from Latin concedere, from com- + cedere to yield

First Known Use: 1626

Synonym Discussion of concede

grant, concede, vouchsafe, accord, award mean to give as a favor or a right. grant implies giving to a claimant or petitioner something that could be withheld. granted them a new hearing concede implies yielding something reluctantly in response to a rightful or compelling claim. even her critics concede she can be charming vouchsafe implies granting something as a courtesy or an act of gracious condescension. vouchsafed the secret to only a few chosen disciples accord implies giving to another what is due or proper. accorded all the honors befitting a head of state award implies giving what is deserved or merited usually after a careful weighing of pertinent factors. awarded the company a huge defense contract

CONCEDE Defined for English Language Learners

concede

play

verb

Definition of concede for English Language Learners

: to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of (something) : to admit (something) usually in an unwilling way
: to admit that you have been defeated and stop trying to win
: to give away (something) usually in an unwilling way

CONCEDE Defined for Kids

concede

play

verb con·cede \kən-ˈsēd\

Definition of concede for Students

conceded

;

conceding

1 : to admit to be true The candidate had to concede defeat.
2 : to grant or yield usually unwillingly Britain conceded the independence of the colonies.