bequeath
Americanverb (used with object)
-
bequeaths,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bequeathed,
past participle, past
-
bequeathing
present participle
verb
-
law to dispose of (property, esp personal property) by will Compare devise
-
to hand down; pass on, as to following generations
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bequeathsimple
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bequeathssimple
-
have bequeathedperfect
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has bequeathedperfect
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am bequeathingprogressive
-
are bequeathingprogressive
-
is bequeathingprogressive
-
have been bequeathingperfect progressive
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has been bequeathingperfect progressive
Past
-
bequeathedsimple
-
had bequeathedperfect
-
was bequeathingprogressive
-
were bequeathingprogressive
-
had been bequeathingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bequeath
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bequethen, Old English becwethan ( be- be- + cwethan “to say” ( see quoth), cognate with Old High German quedan, Gothic qithan )
Explanation
To bequeath is to leave your possessions to another person after you die. A man might love his classic cars but would be happy to bequeath them to his grandchildren when he writes out his last will and testament. Bequeath often is used about making plans to give away property and possessions after a person's death, like the pearl necklace that your great-grandmother bequeathed to you or a house that your uncle bequeathed to a his favorite charity. Sometimes bequeath is used for things handed down without death, as when living parents and grandparents pass, or bequeath, a legacy of stories or family traits and talents as an inheritance.
Vocabulary lists containing bequeath
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Grade 11, List 3
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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:
“People who are 60 can live to 85. People are highly likely to want to bequeath their portfolio to children — and those heirs might have 30 to 40 years until retirement.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Why do voters and MPs bequeath and remove their support with seemingly such casual ease?
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
If you bequeath a Roth, heirs’ withdrawals are tax-free.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
But a time-tested made-in-Italy pedigree and solid-metal build make the Marcato the sort of tool you bequeath to your grandkids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
“Her voice was as sweet as her engagements were fiery. She bequeaths us tunes and images that will never leave us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2023
Liz Truss bequeaths her successor a party in chaos, spiralling prices, rising interest rates and squeezed government budgets.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2022
To moviegoers, the legacy that he bequeaths is a mixed one.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 12, 2018
In what may be his final public act, John McCain this month will publish a book that bequeaths us a rare gift.
From Washington Post ● May 6, 2018
She bequeaths her stuffed toys to Gloria’s fourteen-year- old daughter.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Boris arrived at the museum in 1932 amongst a large collection of taxidermy bequeathed by a local game hunter.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
And since houses can be bequeathed tax-free, having a valuable property can help homeowners who want to leave something to the next generation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Most of the work was given by these artists to the poet, whose husband, David Kermani, then bequeathed them to the Morgan between 2019 and 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Yet feats of demography are only part of what “Revolver” bequeathed.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Hastings passed both speed and malevolence down to his son Fair Play, who in turn bequeathed it to his incomparable son, Man o’ War.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Hassan got further scope to exercise his instincts after Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, bequeathing power to his second son, Bashar, a British-educated eye surgeon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
He played the role of mediator, bequeathing legitimacy to a group which seemingly needed his normalcy.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2024
She suggested having one plan in place for a caretaker if the bonsai owner falls ill and another for bequeathing the tree.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
Longtime Dodgers fans will cringe at the bequeathing of so much power to one player, but this is how it works in Tinseltown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
Robbie, my great-aunt, my rigid taskmaster of a piano teacher, passed away in June, bequeathing her house on Euclid to my parents, allowing them to become home owners for the first time.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
