concurrent
gb/kəŋkˈɚənt/ us/kəŋkˈɚənt/
B2
English
~ 8700
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
happening at the same time
Happening or existing at the same time as something else.
Usage pattern:
[event/thing] is concurrent with [event/thing]; concurrent [event/activity/use]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "concurrent" with "consecutive". "Concurrent" means at the same time, while "consecutive" means one after another. They also sometimes write *"current"* when they mean *"concurrent";* "current" just means "now" or "present."
Synonyms
simultaneous (Slightly more formal; very close in meaning, often interchangeable in most contexts.)
|
coinciding (Emphasizes two things happening at the same time, often by chance.)
Antonyms
separate (Suggests things do not happen or exist at the same time or together.)
Collocations
concurrent events
|concurrent activities
|concurrent use
|concurrent symptoms
|concurrent operations
|concurrent obligations
Themes
time
|general
|description
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The festival will run concurrent with the city’s summer celebrations.
- He is dealing with several concurrent projects at work.
- The patient showed concurrent symptoms of fever and fatigue.
- Economic growth and concurrent environmental damage are a growing concern.
- Her book launch was concurrent with the release of the film adaptation.
Learner examples
- Two concerts are concurrent on Saturday night.
- He has three concurrent meetings this afternoon.
- The class is concurrent with my work shift.
- There were concurrent changes in price and demand.
- The storm was concurrent with very strong winds.
adjective
technical
C1
property
2
handling multiple tasks at once
Used about computer systems or services that let many tasks or users work at the same time.
Usage pattern:
concurrent [users/processes/sessions/requests]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "concurrent users" means all registered users. It actually means the number of users using the system at the same time. It is also sometimes confused with "parallel" in programming, which can be a narrower idea of tasks truly running at the same moment on different cores.
Synonyms
parallel (In computing, often suggests tasks truly running at the same time, sometimes on different processors; "concurrent" can also include tasks that are interleaved rather than strictly parallel.)
Antonyms
sequential (Describes tasks that happen one after another rather than at the same time.)
Collocations
concurrent users
|concurrent sessions
|concurrent connections
|concurrent processes
|concurrent requests
|concurrent access
Themes
technology
|computing
|business
Examples
- The system supports up to 10,000 concurrent users.
- We need to test how the API behaves under heavy concurrent requests.
- Concurrent processing can significantly reduce overall execution time.
- The license limits the number of concurrent sessions per account.
- Concurrent access to this file may cause data corruption.
Learner examples
- This website can handle many concurrent users.
- The app crashed because of too many concurrent requests.
- We pay for the number of concurrent sessions, not total users.
- Concurrent processes share the same server.
- They upgraded the server to support more concurrent connections.
adjective
technical
C1
property
3
legal: running at same time
Used in law to say that a punishment, power, or right happens at the same time as another one, not after it.
Usage pattern:
concurrent [sentence/jurisdiction/powers]
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse "concurrent" with "consecutive" when talking about prison sentences. "Concurrent" means served at the same time; "consecutive" means one after another and usually results in more total time.
Synonyms
overlapping (General word for things covering the same period; "concurrent" is the precise legal term, especially for sentences and jurisdictions.)
Antonyms
consecutive (In legal contexts, describes sentences or terms that follow one after another, not at the same time.)
Collocations
concurrent sentences
|concurrent jurisdiction
|concurrent powers
|serve concurrent terms
|concurrent punishment
Themes
law
|government
Examples
- The defendant received two concurrent sentences of five years.
- These courts have concurrent jurisdiction over immigration matters.
- Under the agreement, the state and federal governments exercise concurrent powers in this area.
- He will serve his new sentence concurrent with the existing one.
- The judge ruled that the terms should be concurrent rather than consecutive.
Learner examples
- The judge gave him concurrent sentences.
- He will serve both punishments concurrent with each other.
- These two courts have concurrent jurisdiction.
- The powers of the two bodies are concurrent in this field.
- The lawyer asked for a concurrent term, not a longer one.
adjective
technical
C1
property
4
meeting at one point (math)
Used in math and physics to say that lines or forces meet at one point.
Usage pattern:
concurrent [lines/forces/vectors]
Common mistake:
Learners may think "concurrent lines" simply means lines that cross somewhere. It actually means three or more lines all meet at the same single point.
Synonyms
intersecting (General word for crossing; "concurrent" is more specific and means all meet at the same single point.)
Antonyms
parallel (Parallel lines or forces never meet, which is the opposite of being concurrent.)
Collocations
concurrent lines
|concurrent forces
|concurrent vectors
|concurrent segments
|concurrent rays
Themes
mathematics
|science
Examples
- The three medians of a triangle are concurrent at a point called the centroid.
- These forces are concurrent, so we can replace them with a single resultant force.
- In this diagram, the angle bisectors are not concurrent.
- If three lines are concurrent, they intersect at exactly one point.
- The teacher drew three concurrent rays starting from the same origin.
Learner examples
- The lines are concurrent at point P.
- Three medians in a triangle are concurrent.
- These forces are concurrent at this point.
- The rays are concurrent because they start at the same place.
- In the picture, four lines are concurrent.
Grammar
Dictionary form
concurrent
IPA
GB/kəŋkˈɚənt/
US/kəŋkˈɚənt/
Syllables & stress
con - cur - rent (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (cur)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: concurrent
Word family
Core family
concurrently
adverb
Related words
concur
verb C1
concurrence
noun C1
Advanced or less common
concurrency
noun C1
Expressions
concurrent with
1/kəŋkˈɚənt wˈɪθ/
fixed phrase
at the same time as
Happening or existing at the same time as something else.
Examples
- The music festival takes place concurrent with the art fair.
- Her promotion came concurrent with major changes in the company.
- The rise in prices was concurrent with a drop in demand.