inherit
Americanverb (used with object)
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inherits,
present (3rd person singular)
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inherited,
past participle, past
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inheriting
present participle
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to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir.
to inherit the family business.
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to receive as if by succession from predecessors.
the problems the new government inherited from the previous administration.
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to receive (a genetic character or trait) by the transmission of hereditary factors.
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to succeed (a person) as heir.
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to receive as one's portion; come into possession of.
to inherit his brother's old clothes.
verb (used without object)
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inherits,
present (3rd person singular)
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inherited,
past participle, past
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inheriting
present participle
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to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.
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to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed byfrom ).
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to have succession as heir.
verb
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to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
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(intr) to succeed as heir
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(tr) to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
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(tr) to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inheritornoun
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inheritressnoun
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reinheritverb
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preinheritverb (used with object)
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inheritedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inheritsimple
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inheritssimple
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have inheritedperfect
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has inheritedperfect
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am inheritingprogressive
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are inheritingprogressive
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is inheritingprogressive
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have been inheritingperfect progressive
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has been inheritingperfect progressive
Past
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inheritedsimple
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had inheritedperfect
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was inheritingprogressive
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were inheritingprogressive
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had been inheritingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inherit
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English en(h)erit(i)en, from Middle French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre “to make heir”; see in- 3, hereditary
Explanation
When your grandmother dies, you might inherit her tea set. Regardless of her death, you might inherit her sense of humor or rather large nose. To inherit is to receive from a predecessor. When you are talking about property, inherit is always used to describe something you get after someone else has died. However, there doesn't have to be a death involved to use the word inherit. When you start a new job, you might inherit less than pleasant tasks from the person who had the job before you. You might also quickly inherit their desire to find a new place to work.
Vocabulary lists containing inherit
Word Generation Science - Life Science
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Genetics - Inheritance and Variation of Traits
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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:
The proposed new facility would inherit some equipment from the older base.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Don’t miss: ‘I don’t want to end up with stalkers’: Should I tell my heirs that I’m writing a will and how much they can expect to inherit?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
If you give appreciated stock to your children during your lifetime, they generally inherit your cost basis, meaning they could face a big capital-gains tax if they choose to sell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The constitution was changed in 1990 to give women the right to inherit the throne, so Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra is in line to be Norway's first female head of state since the 15th Century.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“It’s in Hebrews. It says, ‘Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
The Angel Stadium lease that Kroenke inherits requires the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The lateral septum inherits much of its primary input from a brain region called the hippocampus.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
"It inherits the credibility of the map it was born on."
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
He inherits a race transformed by Graham Platner’s abrupt exit—and must convince voters he can harness the oysterman’s populist appeal without carrying his baggage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The next part of the will would read: "Whichsoever pair made the most money with the ten thousand dollars inherits the whole estate."
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
The team compared genetic patterns associated with GLP1R activity with genes found in men who have androgenetic alopecia, the inherited form of hair loss that typically affects the top and front of the scalp.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
The actor later teamed up with investigative journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby who had inherited all of the campaigner's documents and research.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
When Rolison died nearly 40 years later, Losinger inherited roughly $1 million.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Kim himself inherited power as the third-generation leader despite not being the eldest son," he noted.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Thomas Jefferson inherited approximately 5,000 acres, including the Shadwell property and what would later become his Monticello estate.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
John Ternus takes over as Apple's chief executive on Tuesday, inheriting a company that towers over the smartphone market but trails its rivals in artificial intelligence.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
If Mozeliak decides to retain Suzuki, that could set up the awkward prospect of a new general manager inheriting a manager he did not choose, as Minasian did with Joe Maddon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
It can happen — for example, if you inherit from a sibling who never married or had children — but it’s far less common than inheriting from a parent or grandparent.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
He also argued that he had changed Labour after inheriting a party that was "politically, financially and morally bankrupt".
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Einsteinian physics can thus be regarded as inheriting the results of Newtonian physics while going far beyond them.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
