concession

concession — noun

1. something you agree to give or allow someone, often reluctantly, so that a disag

1.nounB2
Definition

something you agree to give or allow someone, often reluctantly, so that a disagreement can be settled or an agreement reached

Example

After three hours of talks, the company made a concession and agreed to reduce working hours.

make a concession — to agree to something in a negotiation

Neither side was willing to offer any concession, so the contract negotiations fell apart.

offer a concession

Common collocations
  • make a concession
  • offer a concession
  • win a concession
  • grant a concession
  • as a concession to
  • a minor concession
  • a grudging concession
Synonyms
  • compromise

    a mutual agreement where both sides give something up, not one-sided

  • give-and-take

    more informal, suggesting a balanced exchange of concessions

  • accommodation

    a more formal adjustment to someone's needs or demands

Antonyms
  • demand

    a strong request that the other side is expected to meet, not give up

  • refusal

    the act of rejecting an offer or request outright

Usage Note

Often used in the pattern 'make/offer a concession to someone' or 'as a concession to someone/something'.

Common Mistakes

They reached a concession after the meeting.
They reached a compromise after the meeting.
'concession' is one side giving something up; 'compromise' means both sides give something up.
He conceded a concession.
He made a concession.
'concede' and 'concession' are from the same root; 'make a concession' is the natural collocation.

2. a formal statement or public act showing that you accept you have lost a contest

2.nounB2
Definition

a formal statement or public act showing that you accept you have lost a contest, election, or argument

Example

The losing candidate delivered a gracious concession speech on election night.

concession speech — a formal announcement of defeat in an election

Ziad's quiet admission that the other lawyer had the stronger case was a rare concession.

Common collocations
  • concession speech
  • a concession that
  • grudging concession
  • make a concession
Synonyms
  • admission

    focuses on acknowledging something is true, not necessarily defeat

  • acknowledgment

    more formal; can refer to admitting a fact without a sense of loss

Antonyms
  • denial

    refusing to accept that something is true or that you have lost

Usage Note

Commonly used with a that-clause ('concession that...') to specify what is being admitted. Frequently occurs in the fixed phrase 'concession speech' in political contexts.

3. a special lower price charged to particular groups such as students, older peopl

3.nounB1
Definition

a special lower price charged to particular groups such as students, older people, or children

Example

Linh showed her student ID card and received a concession on the train ticket.

The museum offers concession rates for visitors over the age of sixty-five.

concession rate — a discounted price for a specific group

Common collocations
  • concession rate
  • concession ticket
  • concession price
  • student concession
  • senior concession
Synonyms
  • discount

    more general term for a reduced price; used in all varieties of English

  • reduced rate

    slightly more formal, often used for ongoing services

Antonyms

Usage Note

This sense is most common in British English. In American English, 'discount' or 'reduced rate' is more typical. Often used in compound nouns: concession rate, concession ticket, concession price.

Common Mistakes

I got a concession on the phone because I am a student.
I got a student discount on the phone.
'concession' in this sense is mainly used for tickets and entry fees, not general retail products.

4. an official right, typically from a national or regional authority, allowing a p

4.nounC1
Definition

an official right, typically from a national or regional authority, allowing a person or company to use land or extract natural resources for a defined purpose

Example

The government granted a mining concession to the Canadian company for a period of thirty years.

grant a [mining/oil] concession — formal permission to extract resources

Foreign oil firms competed fiercely for drilling concessions in the newly discovered offshore field.

Common collocations
  • grant a concession
  • mining concession
  • oil concession
  • land concession
  • logging concession
  • award a concession
Synonyms
  • franchise

    overlaps with sense 5; more about commercial rights than resource extraction

  • license

    a broader term for official permission; often more temporary and less exclusive

  • lease

    focuses on the rental aspect of using property for a fixed period

Usage Note

Frequently appears in the context of natural resources (mining, oil, logging, water). The grantor is typically a government, and the concession includes specific terms and conditions.

Common Mistakes

I have a concession to park in this spot.
I have a permit to park in this spot.
'concession' in this sense refers to large-scale land or resource rights, not everyday permissions.

5. a legal arrangement permitting someone to vend a company's goods or to operate a

5.nounC1
Definition

a legal arrangement permitting someone to vend a company's goods or to operate a certain type of business within a particular place or region

Example

Feng won the concession to run the coffee shop at the city's central railway station.

win the concession to [verb] — obtain the right to operate

The soft-drink manufacturer secured the main concession at all the stadiums in the region.

Common collocations
  • concession agreement
  • win a concession
  • secure a concession
  • food concession
  • coffee concession
  • operate a concession
Synonyms
  • franchise

    a broader right to operate a branded business; often a standalone outlet rather than inside a venue

  • contract

    a general legal agreement that may or may not involve exclusive selling rights

Usage Note

Often interchangeable with 'franchise' in commercial contexts, though a 'concession' is usually within a larger venue (airport, train station, stadium), while a 'franchise' can be a standalone business.

Common Mistakes

He bought a concession from McDonald's.
He bought a franchise from McDonald's.
Fast-food chains typically use 'franchise' for their business model, not 'concession'.

6. a small stand, counter, or shop where food, drinks, or other goods are sold insi

6.nounB2
Definition

a small stand, counter, or shop where food, drinks, or other goods are sold inside a larger public venue such as a stadium, cinema, or train station

Example

During half-time, fans lined up at the stadium concessions to buy hot dogs and soft drinks.

The cinema concession sells freshly made popcorn, nachos, and several flavours of ice cream.

cinema concession — the snack counter in a movie theatre

Common collocations
  • stadium concession
  • cinema concession
  • concession stand
  • run a concession
  • food concession
Synonyms
  • stand

    more general term for a small retail counter; less tied to the larger-venue context

  • kiosk

    a small, often self-contained structure selling goods; common in shopping malls

  • stall

    a temporary or movable selling unit; often outdoors

Usage Note

Often used in the plural ('concessions') to refer to the collection of food/drink stands at a venue. Can overlap with sense 5 — the right to operate such a stand — but sense 6 focuses on the physical location itself.

7. the food, drinks, and other items that are sold at a concession stand, especiall

7.nounB2
Definition

the food, drinks, and other items that are sold at a concession stand, especially in a stadium, cinema, or theatre

Example

The prices of concessions at the ballpark are surprisingly high for basic snacks.

Fans rushed to buy concessions before the championship game started.

buy concessions — purchase food and drink at a venue

Common collocations
  • buy concessions
  • concession sales
  • concession prices
  • concession stand
Synonyms
  • refreshments

    more formal term for light food and drinks; used in British English

  • snacks

    informal term for small items of food eaten between meals

Usage Note

Almost always used in the plural ('concessions') when referring to the items sold. This sense is most common in North American English. In British English, the terms 'refreshments' or 'snacks' are more frequent for the items themselves.

Common Mistakes

I bought a concession from the stand.
I bought a snack from the concession stand.
'concession' as a countable item means the stand itself or the items sold; to avoid confusion, use 'concession stand' for the place.

Word family

  • concede
    verbB2
  • concessionary
    adjectiveC1
  • concessional
    adjectiveC1
  • concessionaire
    nounC2
  • unconceding
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Concession, compromise, allowance, give-and-take, and accommodation all involve yielding in some way, but they differ in how the giving is structured. A concession is a one-sided giving-in: one party agrees to something the other wants. A compromise is mutual — both sides give up something to reach a middle ground. An allowance is a regular amount given or permitted, often financial, without the sense of disagreement (e.g. a child's weekly allowance). Give-and-take is an informal term for the back-and-forth process of mutual concessions in a relationship or negotiation. An accommodation is a formal adjustment made to meet someone's needs, often without an existing dispute. For example, in a salary negotiation: 'The employer made a concession by offering extra holiday days' (one-sided); 'They reached a compromise by splitting the difference between the two salary figures' (mutual).

compromise ↗allowance ↗give-and-takeaccommodation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • make a concession
  • as a concession
  • a concession to
  • on concession

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Concession entered English in the 15th century from Latin 'concessio' (a yielding, permission), derived from 'concedere' — 'con-' meaning 'completely' and 'cedere' meaning 'to go, yield, give up'. The root 'cedere' also gives us words like 'cede', 'recede', and 'proceed'. Over time, the word broadened from the core idea of 'yielding' into specialized legal and commercial meanings, such as a government grant of land or an exclusive right to sell goods.