concession

noun

con·ces·sion | \ kən-ˈse-shən

Definition of concession

1a : the act or an instance of conceding (as by granting something as a right, accepting something as true, or acknowledging defeat) The union will seek further concessions before accepting the contract.

b : the admitting of a point claimed in argument

2 : something conceded or granted:

a : acknowledgment, admission

b : something done or agreed to usually grudgingly in order to reach an agreement or improve a situation The ending of the movie was changed as a concession to the American audience's sensibilities.

c(1) : a grant of land or property especially by a government in return for services or for a particular use

(2) : a right to undertake and profit by a specified activity a concession to drill for oil

(3) : a lease of a portion of premises for a particular purpose also : the portion leased or the activities carried on

3a : a small business or shop where things are sold in a public place (such as a sports stadium or theater) The theater had real Raisinets at the concession, so I got some of those, too.— Neal Fandek … Billie's visiting with her father, and I'm standing alone at the concession stand, buying my butterless corn.— Carrie Fisher

b concessions, plural : things sold at such a business Spectators spend an average of $5 per game on concessions.— Jack Gallagher

Other Words from concession Synonyms Meanings of Concession More Example Sentences Learn More about concession

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Other Words from concession

concessional \ kən-ˈsesh-nəl

, -ˈse-shə-nᵊl \ adjective

concessionary \ kən-ˈse-shə-ˌner-ē

\ adjective

Meanings of Concession

Concession carries two very distinct meanings in English. It is commonly used to indicate something that has been conceded (as when the politician who loses a race gives a concession speech, or when someone makes a concession in an argument). In a completely different context, the word maybe be found in the phrase concession stand. Where does this last use come from? Were concession stands originally set up to settle arguments or elections? Hardly. The concession in concession stand denotes “a usually exclusive right to undertake and profit by a specified activity.” The phrase is first recorded in a classified ad seeking someone to work at a booth at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

Examples of concession in a Sentence

In the big pristine forests of the Congo Basin, governments are selling logging and mining concessions to get money … — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2007 With him he carried a secret mandate from Prince Gauda, promising all sorts of concessions in Numidia once he was its king. — Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, (1990) 1991 We sang exactly in the same range. There was never a concession that had to be made musically because our ranges were so totally compatible. — Rosemary Clooney, quoted by Joe Smith, Off the Record, 1988 As a concession to her debility she lay on an aluminum chaise longue … — John Updike, New Yorker, 23 May 1988 We are waiting for his concession of the election. The candidate made an emotional concession speech when it was clear that he had lost. The strikers have won some important concessions from the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

While church officials made concessions over the years — for example, the project was downsized from more than 105,000 square feet to nearly 90,000 square feet — opposition remained. — Pomerado News, "County supervisors approve Chinese church west of 4S Ranch," 2 July 2019 Apartments and home sellers are making concessions. — Rose Meily, The Mercury News, "Real estate: Assessor: A recession is ‘overdue’," 28 June 2019 Goldman Sachs analysts also noted that the president’s threat to levy tariffs on Mexico even as the USMCA trade deal was being finalized could disincentivize China from making too many concessions. — NBC News, "Stakes are high for G-20 talks with China, but 'You can only fight so many wars,' say economists," 26 June 2019 The Trump Administration’s goal is to get Tehran to make concessions on its missile development, regional interventions, and human-rights record, as well as its nuclear program. — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, "Trump Sanctions Iran’s Supreme Leader, but to What End?," 25 June 2019 For years prior to Lordstown’s closure, the UAW had already made enormous concessions to GM. — Sarah Jaffe, The New Republic, "The Road Not Taken," 24 June 2019 In 1800 his defeat of the Austrian army at Marengo forced Austria into making major concessions to France. — National Geographic, "How Beethoven went from Napoleon’s biggest fan to his worst critic," 24 Apr. 2019 Even those of us with the best intentions have to make concessions from the to time, though. — Emily Farra, Vogue, "Is Faux Leather Even Better Than the Real Thing? These 3 Designers Say Yes," 8 Nov. 2018 Google made big concessions on the front of the device to fit two front-facing speakers, and while that seems great on a spec sheet, in reality the sound performance wasn't there. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Pixel 3 XL review—Google software deserves better than this hardware," 15 Oct. 2018

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

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13 Jul 2019

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The first known use of concession was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for concession

concession

noun

English Language Learners Definition of concession

: the act of giving up something or doing something in order to reach agreement

: the act of admitting that you have been defeated in a contest

: something that you allow or do to end a conflict or reach an agreement

See the full definition for concession in the English Language Learners Dictionary

concession

noun

con·ces·sion | \ kən-ˈse-shən

Kids Definition of concession

1 : the act or an instance of giving up or admitting something a concession of defeat His one concession to the temperature was that we work indoors …— Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved

2 : something given up The employees won concessions from the company.

3 : a right to engage in business given by an authority a mining concession

4 : a small business where things are sold (as at a sports facility or public place)

concession

noun

con·ces·sion

Legal Definition of concession

1 : an act or instance of conceding or yielding

2 : something conceded: as

a : acknowledgment, admission

b : something granted especially as an inducement (as to enter into an agreement)

c : a grant of real property especially by a government in return for services or for a particular use (as settlement)

d : a right to undertake a specified activity for profit on another's real property a logging concession

e : a lease that grants a right to engage in a profitable activity on another's real property also : the property or portion of the property subject to such a lease