succumb
Americanverb
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to give way in face of the overwhelming force (of) or desire (for)
-
to be fatally overwhelmed (by disease, old age, etc); die (of)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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succumbsimple
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succumbssimple
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have succumbedperfect
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has succumbedperfect
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am succumbingprogressive
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are succumbingprogressive
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is succumbingprogressive
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have been succumbingperfect progressive
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has been succumbingperfect progressive
Past
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succumbedsimple
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had succumbedperfect
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was succumbingprogressive
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were succumbingprogressive
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had been succumbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of succumb
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin succumbere, from suc- suc- + -cumbere (derivative of cubāre “to lie down, recline”); cf. incumbent
Explanation
Use the verb succumb to say that someone yields to something they've tried to fight off, such as despair, temptation, disease or injury. If you succumb to cancer, it means you die of it. From this sentence you can see that this verb is usually followed by the preposition to. The Latin root is succumbere, from the prefix sub- "under" plus -cumbere "to lie down."
Vocabulary lists containing succumb
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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List 3
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If their CTmax is exceeded, insects succumb to desiccation, muscle spasms and eventual stupor.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
Notably, neither scavengers nor flies that fed on the supposedly poisoned carcasses have perished -- creatures that typically succumb after consuming poisoned animals.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
It nevertheless seems a good bet that, sooner or later and quite likely sooner, the market will succumb to the gravitational pull of insider bearishness.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Simón, who undertook a similar odyssey at the same age, never allows this delicate story to succumb to self-indulgence or an inflated sense of its own importance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Chills ran up his skin—it brought back the memory of Misty singing as she began to succumb to the illness.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
The market might not be imploding so much as readjusting as the tech industry succumbs to more realistic expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He girded himself to “understand better now what I’ve always known: he who drags himself through life, who succumbs under its weight, can’t help anyone, no matter what duties he takes on.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
But her character succumbs to Ducournau’s convoluted plotting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
In the more pessimistic schema, Tesla succumbs to competition and margin pressure, the market disregards Optimus in valuations and Robotaxi has slower growth expected.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 8, 2025
On 29 January 2016, the last hive of honeybees, located on an almond farm in California, succumbs to CCD.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
Yes, bears: crypto slang for people who think the price of Bitcoin is going to fall or who have in some other way succumbed to crypto pessimism.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
While firefighters were able to reach Paul and Sheila inside the Mohican Road home, the couple succumbed to smoke inhalation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
The British number one had finally succumbed to Croatia's Donna Vekic in a slow-burning Queen's final, unable to save a fifth Championship point and continue a match which she had admirably stoked into a scrap.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
While other sports unions have succumbed to a salary cap—the NHL wiped out the entire 2004-05 season to get there—the MLB Players Association has remained steadfast in its opposition against the concept for generations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
No raffle ticket, no Bingo, no policy slip, no clearing-house number, no magazine sweepstakes, no, nor any unpierced carnival balloon succumbed to her magic.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
You need to balance your enjoyment of the present with building a future in California, without succumbing to 24/7 pressure.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
But many of his projects are again succumbing to time, with chunks of pediment falling to the sidewalk.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
McCraney, Geffen Playhouse’s artistic director, said forging a path forward in nonprofit theater without succumbing to commercial pressure to produce only guaranteed hits requires the delicate balance of surfing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
McCain said these varieties, plus the work of farmers like Bubb, turned potatoes once wilting under drought and succumbing to disease during floods into much more resilient potatoes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Well into December, individuals were still succumbing to the fever, and Thomas Jefferson was worrying over which houses were safe to enter.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
