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

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Etymology

Origin of heir

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

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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

This underscores how the larger-than-life Nvidia CEO has no clear heir apparent.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

Former US senator Jay Rockefeller, an heir to one of America's wealthiest dynasties who devoted decades to fighting poverty and expanding healthcare, has died aged 89, US media reported Friday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Bardot was married three times before she met de Chiara: to filmmaker Roger Vadim, actor Jacques Charrier and industrial heir Gunter Sachs.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Just like when peanut butter sales go up,” the chicken-finger heir nodded solemnly.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

Details are murky, but on his deathbed the Inka seems to have passed over Atawallpa, who had not distinguished himself, and designated as his heir a son named Ninan K’uychi.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

When major collector Rosa de la Cruz died in 2024, her space in Miami shuttered and her heirs auctioned off much of her collection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

They said producers "simply moved the show from Chicago to Pittsburgh, rebranded it The Pitt, and ploughed ahead without any attribution or compensation for Crichton and his heirs".

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Does your adviser want you to pay tax on some of your IRA withdrawals now to make life easier for your heirs?

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Yet now, 10 years in, the movement’s heirs may not call themselves neoperreo at all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Before the law could declare him to be just another piece of property subject to disposal as the tailor’s heirs saw fit, Jones applied to the courts for protection and obtained a certificate of freedom.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

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Related Words

• beneficiary
• inheritor
• scion
• successor

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