Definition of 'concern'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense concerns, present participle concerning, past tense, past participle concerned
1. uncountable noun
Concern is worry about a situation.
2. transitive verb [no cont]
3. transitive verb
If you concern yourself with something, you give it attention because you think that it is important.
concerned adjective [v-link ADJ with n]
4. transitive verb [no cont]
If something such as a book or a piece of information concerns a particular subject, it is about that subject.
5. transitive verb [no cont]
If a situation, event, or activity concerns you, it affects or involves you.
concerned adjective [n ADJ, v-link ADJ in/with n]
6. countable noun
A concern is a fact or situation that worries you.
7. countable noun
You can refer to a company or business as a concern, usually when you are describing what type of company or business it is.
[formal, business]
8. variable noun
Concern for someone is a feeling that you want them to be happy, safe, and well. If you do something
out of concern for someone, you do it because you want them to be happy, safe, and well.
9. singular noun
10.
See going concern
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
concern in American English
verb transitive
1.
to have a relation to or bearing on; deal with
noun
4.
a matter of interest or importance to one; that which relates to or affects one;
affair; matter; business
5.
interest in or regard for a person or thing
6.
relation; reference
7.
worry; anxiety
to feel concern over one's health
8.
a business establishment; company; firm
SIMILAR WORDS: care
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME concernen < ML concernere, to perceive, have regard to, fig. use of LL concernere, to sift, mix, as in a sieve < L com-, with + cernere, to sift, hence perceive, comprehend: see crisisWord Frequency
concern in American English
(kənˈsɜːrn)
transitive verb
1.
to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect
The water shortage concerns us all
2. (used reflexively or in the passive, often fol. by with or in)
to interest or engage
She concerns herself with every aspect of the business
noun
SYNONYMS 1. touch, involve. 3. disturb. 5. burden, responsibility. concern, care, worry connote an uneasy and burdened state of mind. concern implies an anxious sense of interest in something: concern over a friend's misfortune. care suggests a heaviness of spirit caused by dread, or by the constant pressure of burdensome
demands: Poverty weighs a person down with care. worry is an active state of agitated uneasiness and restless apprehension: He was distracted by worry over the stock market. 8. firm, house.ANTONYMS 6. indifference.5.
a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness
The party was no concern of his
6.
worry, solicitude, or anxiety
to show concern for someone in trouble
7.
important relation or bearing
This news is of concern to all of us
8.
a commercial or manufacturing company or establishment
the headquarters of an insurance concern
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1375–1425; late ME concernen (‹ MF concerner) ‹ ML concernere to relate to, distinguish (LL: to mix for sifting), equiv. to L con- con- + cernere to sift]Word Frequency
concern in British English
verb (transitive)
1.
to relate to; be of importance or interest to; affect
2. (usually foll by with or in)
to involve or interest (oneself)
he concerns himself with other people's affairs
noun
3.
something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business
4.
regard for or interest in a person or a thing
she felt a strong concern for her sister
5.
6.
important bearing or relation
this news has great concern for us
7.
a commercial company or enterprise
8. informal
a material thing, esp one of which one has a low opinion
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C15: from Late Latin concernere to mingle together, from Latin com- together + cernere to sift, distinguish
Examples of 'concern' in a sentence
concern
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In other languages
concern
British English: concern
/kənˈsɜːn/ NOUN
Concern is worry about a situation.
The group has expressed concern about reports of political unrest in the country.
- American English: concern /kənˈsɜrn/
- Arabic: اِهْتِمام
- Brazilian Portuguese: preocupação
- Chinese: 关心
- Croatian: briga
- Czech: obava
- Danish: bekymring
- Dutch: bezorgdheid
- European Spanish: preocupación
- Finnish: huoli
- French: souci inquiétude
- German: Besorgnis
- Greek: ανησυχία
- Italian: preoccupazione
- Japanese: 心配
- Korean: 걱정
- Norwegian: bekymring
- Polish: niepokój
- European Portuguese: preocupação
- Romanian: preocupare
- Russian: беспокойство
- Spanish: preocupación
- Swedish: bekymmer
- Thai: ความกังวล
- Turkish: ilgi kaygı
- Ukrainian: занепокоєння
- Vietnamese: sự lo lắng
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Definition of concern from the Collins English Dictionary
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