bequeath
Americanverb (used with object)
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bequeaths,
present (3rd person singular)
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bequeathed,
past participle, past
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bequeathing
present participle
verb
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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
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bequeathsimple
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bequeathssimple
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have bequeathedperfect
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has bequeathedperfect
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am bequeathingprogressive
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are bequeathingprogressive
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is bequeathingprogressive
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have been bequeathingperfect progressive
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has been bequeathingperfect progressive
Past
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bequeathedsimple
-
had bequeathedperfect
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was bequeathingprogressive
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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
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
Brandi Schmitt is director of the anatomical donation programme at the University of California, a popular destination for people wishing to bequeath their bodies.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025
He went on to bequeath little bits of money and jewelry to each of them, never clarifying which one he considered his Koh-i-noor.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The director of “The Fly” and “Videodrome” isn’t in the film long, but he bequeaths prestige upon these splat-hijinks that they don’t quite deserve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
The passage of great TV characters bequeaths to their survivors, including the audience, a rummage of questions that end up shaping their journey.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
He appointed more than 140 cardinals from non-European countries and bequeaths his successor a Church that is far more global in outlook than the one he inherited.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2025
The loss of Jonathan Demme is a sad surprise, for the films that he bequeaths to us remain, to an uncommon degree, the work of a good man.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 29, 2017
She bequeaths her stuffed toys to Gloria’s fourteen-year- old daughter.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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
Yet feats of demography are only part of what “Revolver” bequeathed.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Slot was bequeathed quality, but he put his own stamp on it to make Liverpool title winners.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Frieda bequeathed it to the University of New Mexico, and the D.H.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Frances and her husband took him in for a while, until his maternal grandfather died and bequeathed Charles enough money to pay for college.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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
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
Klopp is bequeathing a deep and richly talented squad, with a number of youngsters starting to blossom.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
They reach out to people, hosting dinner parties, bequeathing little bits of themselves to their friends.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
