cession

noun

ces·​sion ˈse-shən 

: a yielding to another : concession

Synonyms

• capitulating
• capitulation
• handover
• relinquishment
• rendition
• submission
• submitting
• surrender

Examples of cession in a Sentence

territorial cessions from one state to another

The law required cession of the land to the heirs.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the time of the cession, only 50,000 Indigenous people were estimated to be left, as well as 483 Russians and 1,421 Creoles (descendants of Russian men and Indigenous women). —William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, The Conversation, 29 Mar. 2017

The other is from the perspective of my people, who have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and for whom the anniversary of the cession brings mixed emotions, including immense loss but also optimism. —William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, The Conversation, 29 Mar. 2017

Meanwhile, Schlafly joined Loeb and other conservative leaders on the Emergency Committee to Save the U.S. Canal Zone to lambast any cession of the Canal as threatening the nation’s security. —Aaron Coy Moulton / Made By History, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025

Zelensky also addressed reports suggesting that President-elect Donald Trump might propose a peace plan involving Ukraine's cession of occupied lands in exchange for NATO membership. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin cession-, cessio, from cedere to withdraw — more at cede

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cession

• freshen
• hessian
• pression
• session
• accession
• aggression
• compression
• concession
• confession
• depression
• digression
• discretion

Kids Definition

cession

noun

ces·​sion ˈsesh-ən 

: a giving over (as of territory or rights) to another

Legal Definition

cession

noun

ces·​sion ˈse-shən 

1

: an act of ceding : a yielding (as of property) to another: as

a

in the civil law of Louisiana : assignment or transfer of property rights by a debtor to a creditor

b

: transfer of liability by an insurer to a reinsurer

c

: transfer of control of or sovereignty over specific property or territory especially by treaty

such district…as may, by cession of particular States…become the seat of the government of the United States

—U.S. Constitution art. I

2

: the monetary amount of liability ceded by an insurer to a reinsurer compare concession