heir

American  

[air] / ɛər /

noun

• heirs
  plural

1. a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.

2. Law.

   1. (in common law) a person who inherits all the property of a deceased person, as by descent, relationship, will, or legal process.

   2. Civil Law. a person who legally succeeds to the place of a deceased person and assumes the rights and obligations of the deceased, as the liabilities for debts or the possessory rights to property.

3. a person who inherits or is entitled to inherit the rank, title, position, etc., of another.

4. a person or group considered as inheriting the tradition, talent, etc., of a predecessor.

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verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. to inherit; succeed to.

heir British  

/ ɛə /

noun

1. civil law the person legally succeeding to all property of a deceased person, irrespective of whether such person died testate or intestate, and upon whom devolves as well as the rights the duties and liabilities attached to the estate

2. any person or thing that carries on some tradition, circumstance, etc, from a forerunner

3. an archaic word for offspring

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heirless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heirs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of heir

1225–75; Middle English eir, heir < Old French < Latin hērēd- (stem of hērēs ); akin to Greek chêros bereaved

Explanation

If your grandfather leaves his candy factory to you in his will, it means you're the heir to the family candy business, and after your grandfather dies, you will inherit the factory. When you're named in a will or are legally entitled to inherit something, you're an heir. You can be the heir to someone's money, business, or title; in a monarchy, the king or queen's oldest son is usually the heir to the throne. The word heir isn't pronounced like "hair," but instead has a silent h and sounds like "air."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heir heirs

The pair -- dubbed "the heir and the spare" from an early age -- have failed to put aside their differences, despite their father King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Belgium's Prince Laurent has legally recognised 26-year-old former car salesman Clément Vandenkerckhove as his son and heir.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Her departure followed a string of other exits, including former chief operating officer Brad Lightcap and Fidji Simo, once seen as the heir apparent to CEO Sam Altman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

States consider whether recovering the Medicaid costs would cause the heir severe financial hardship, like leaving them destitute or forcing them to rely on public assistance.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Instead the Fowl heir apparent crossed to the monitor wall and followed developments from there.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Five of Jerry Buss’ heirs want to sell their remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

You’ll live your life, spend your savings, and the condo in Florida and your house in Illinois can be what you leave behind for your heirs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Putting a home inside a trust is a common financial planning strategy for those looking to ease the burden on heirs or avoid estate taxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“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

These weren’t the heirs and scions of industry; these were working-class Americans.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• beneficiary
• inheritor
• scion
• successor