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heiress

American  
[air-is] / ˈɛər ɪs /

noun

  1. a woman who inherits or has a right of inheritance, especially a woman who has inherited or will inherit considerable wealth.

heiress British  
/ ˈɛərɪs /

noun

  1. a woman who inherits or expects to inherit great wealth

  2. property law a female heir

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Gender

See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of heiress

First recorded in 1650–60; heir + -ess

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.

The second, Joan, a middle-aged heiress in Florida, was conned by Ken into believing that he was Jewish and a canny businessman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

It was eventually sold for $85 million in 2011 to Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 20, 2026

This will be a tale of crime and punishment told in flashback, rewinding to Becket’s mother, an heiress excised from an eleven-figure fortune for giving birth as an unwed teenager.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

The painting shows Lederer, an heiress and the daughter of one of Klimt's patrons, wearing a white robe and stood in front of a blue tapestry covered in Asian motifs.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

Either she’s an heiress with money to invest, or she’s in trouble and needs a lawyer to help her.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

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.