Concurrent Meaning: Definition, Pronunciation & Examples
Two exhibitions open on the same weekend. Two prison sentences run side by side instead of one after the other. Two computer programs share a processor without waiting for each other. In every case, one word does the describing: concurrent. It means happening or existing at the same time — and it is one of those formal words that turns up everywhere once you start looking for it: in law, in computing, in medicine, in the news.
The word is easy to recognise and easy to misuse. Its most common error is confusion with its near-twin consecutive: a prisoner serving two concurrent sentences serves them together, while two consecutive sentences are served one after the other.
What Does “Concurrent” Mean? The Dictionary Definitions
The dictionaries agree on the core sense and then branch into the specialist uses:
| Dictionary | Definition of concurrent |
|---|---|
| Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries | Adjective: “existing or happening at the same time” — concurrent (with something). Example: “He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months.” |
| Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary | Adjective, UK /kənˈkʌrənt/, US /kənˈkɜːrənt/. The related adverb concurrently means “at the same time”: “Her two dramas are being shown concurrently by rival television stations.” |
| Merriam-Webster | 1. “Operating or occurring at the same time.” 2. “Convergent,” specifically “meeting or intersecting in a point.” 3. “Acting in conjunction.” 4. “Exercised over the same matter or area by two different authorities” — concurrent jurisdiction. |
| Collins COBUILD | Adjective, usually before a noun: “Galerie St. Etienne is holding three concurrent exhibitions.” “He will actually be serving three concurrent five-year sentences.” Also with with: “Concurrent with her acting career, Bron has managed to write two books of her own.” |
| Longman | 1. “Existing or happening at the same time.” 2. Formal: “in agreement” — “My opinions are concurrent with yours.” |
One idea runs through all of them: things running together. That is not a metaphor the dictionaries invented — it is the word’s literal history, as the etymology below shows.
How to Pronounce “Concurrent”: UK and US
The pronunciation differs between British and American English in the stressed vowel:
- UK: /kənˈkʌrənt/ — kun-KUR-uhnt. The stressed vowel is the short uh of cup and current.
- US: /kənˈkɜːrənt/ — kun-KUR-uhnt, with the ur sound of her and burn. American speakers pronounce the r after the vowel; British speakers generally do not.
The stress falls on the second syllable in both standards: con-CUR-rent. The adverb concurrently follows the same pattern: UK /kənˈkʌr.ənt.li/, US /kənˈkɝː.ənt.li/ — kun-KUR-uhnt-lee. A useful memory hook: concurrent contains the word current, and it is pronounced the same way in its second half.
The Main Senses in Detail
1. Happening or existing at the same time
This is the sense most people meet first. Two exhibitions, two investigations, two courses of medication, two television dramas — anything that runs alongside something else in time is concurrent with it. Merriam-Webster’s examples show the range: “the concurrent use of two medications,” “concurrent European wars,” and, from recent news, “115,145 concurrent players” in a computer game.
In computing this sense has become a term of art. Concurrent users are people using the same system at the same time; concurrent processing is a computer doing more than one thing at once. The word is exact here in a way that simultaneous is not quite: concurrent processes may overlap without starting and stopping at precisely the same instant, while simultaneous suggests the same moment.
2. Acting together, or in agreement
The second family of meanings is about cooperation rather than timing. Things that are concurrent act in conjunction — they work together towards the same result. Longman records the formal use plainly: “My opinions are concurrent with yours” means my opinions agree with yours. This sense survives mostly in formal writing and in the fixed pattern concurrent with, which can mean either “at the same time as” or “in agreement with” depending on context.
3. Concurrent jurisdiction: the legal sense
In law, concurrent has a precise technical meaning: authority exercised over the same matter or area by two different authorities. Concurrent jurisdiction means that two courts — say, a state court and a federal court — both have the legal power to hear the same case. Neither one cancels the other out.
Concurrent vs Consecutive: The Pair That Causes the Trouble
This is the distinction that matters most, because confusing the two changes real outcomes. Merriam-Webster’s own usage note puts it plainly: both words begin with the prefix con- (“with, together”), and both deal with the order in which things happen — but they describe opposite orders.
| Concurrent | Consecutive | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | At the same time; running together | One after another; in sequence |
| Two prison sentences | Served together — the total is the longer of the two | Served one after the other — the total is the sum |
| Example | “Two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months” — 30 months in total | “Two consecutive terms of 30 months and 18 months” — 48 months in total |
| Memory hook | Concurrent = co- (together) + current (running) | Consecutive = sequence (one follows the next) |
The prison example is the one to remember, because it is where the words are used most often and where the stakes are highest. As Merriam-Webster explains: a criminal who serves a consecutive sentence does time for one conviction after another, while a criminal given a concurrent sentence undergoes all punishments at the same time. News reports about sentencing use both words constantly — “two concurrent twenty-year terms,” “a combination of consecutive, concurrent and stayed sentences” — and readers who know the difference can work out the real length of a sentence from a single word.
Outside the courtroom, the same logic applies. Concurrent exhibitions run at the same time; consecutive exhibitions run one after another. Concurrent users are online together; consecutive users log in one after another. If the things overlap in time, they are concurrent. If they follow each other, they are consecutive. Simultaneous is the closest synonym, but it stresses the exact same moment, while concurrent allows overlap without perfect synchrony — and only concurrent carries the legal and “in agreement” senses.
Where the Word Comes From
Concurrent entered English in the 14th century — Merriam-Webster dates its first known use to that period — borrowed from Latin concurrent-, concurrens, the present participle of concurrere. That verb breaks down into con-, “together with,” and currere, “to run.” A concurrent thing is, literally, a thing that runs together with another. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries gives the same history: late Middle English, from Latin concurrent-, “running together, meeting,” from concurrere. The same root gives English concur (to agree), concurrence, concourse, and current itself.
Grammar: How Concurrent Behaves in a Sentence
Concurrent is an adjective, and it usually sits before the noun it describes: concurrent exhibitions, concurrent sentences, concurrent users, concurrent developments. Collins marks it as “usually adjective noun” for exactly this reason. It also works after a linking verb with with: “The screenings run concurrent with the BBC Studios Showcase,” “concurrent with these increases in growth.” In this pattern it takes a partner — something it runs alongside — and with names that partner. The adverb concurrently does the same work for verbs: “His sentence is to run concurrently with a sentence he is already serving” (Collins).
Correct vs Incorrect
| Correct | Incorrect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| She is serving two concurrent sentences. | She is serving two consecutive sentences. (when they run together) | Concurrent means at the same time; consecutive means one after another. |
| The two exhibitions are concurrent. | The two exhibitions are concurrant. | The ending is -ent, not -ant. There is no word “concurrant” in the dictionaries. |
| Their sentences will run concurrently. | Their sentences will run concurrent. | An adverb is needed to modify the verb run: concurrently, not the adjective concurrent. |
Common Mistakes with Concurrent
Swapping it with consecutive. This is the big one, and the most consequential. If two things happen together, they are concurrent. If they happen in sequence, they are consecutive. The prison-sentence test settles it every time: together or one-after-the-other?
Spelling it “concurrant.” The word ends in -ent, like current, recurrent, and consistent. Remember the link to current and the spelling follows.
Using it when “current” will do. Current means happening now. Concurrent means happening at the same time as something else. A “current exhibition” is one that is on now; a “concurrent exhibition” is one that is on at the same time as another exhibition. If there is no second thing to run alongside, current is the right choice.
Forgetting the adverb. “They ran concurrent” is a common slip. The verb needs the adverb concurrently: “They ran concurrently.”
Examples of Concurrent in Real Sentences
- Concurrent investigations were undertaken to identify the source of the illnesses. (Cambridge corpus example)
- The gallery is holding three concurrent exhibitions this season. (Collins example)
- He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. (Oxford example)
- Her two dramas are being shown concurrently by rival television stations. (Cambridge example)
- His sentence is to run concurrently with a sentence he is already serving. (Collins example)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the simple meaning of concurrent?
Happening or existing at the same time. Two things are concurrent when they run together in time — two exhibitions, two sentences, two jobs, two treatments.
What is the difference between concurrent and consecutive?
Concurrent means at the same time; consecutive means one after another. Two concurrent prison sentences are served together (the total is the longer one), while two consecutive sentences are served in sequence (the total is the sum of both).
Is concurrent a noun or an adjective?
Almost always an adjective. There is a rare noun sense — a concurrent is a joint or contributory cause — but it is barely used in modern English. The ordinary noun is concurrence, and the adverb is concurrently.
What does “concurrent jurisdiction” mean?
It means two different courts or authorities both have the legal power to deal with the same matter. For example, a case might fall under the concurrent jurisdiction of a state court and a federal court.
The Takeaway
Concurrent means running together in time — from Latin concurrere, “to run together.” It is an adjective, pronounced UK /kənˈkʌrənt/, US /kənˈkɜːrənt/, with the stress on the second syllable. Use it when two things overlap in time, when two authorities share power over the same matter, or when lines meet at a point. Keep it apart from consecutive — together versus one-after-another — and from current, which only means “happening now.” Remember the prison test: concurrent sentences are served together, and that single image will keep the word straight for good.
Sources: Cambridge Dictionary — concurrent; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries — concurrent; Merriam-Webster — concurrent.
