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

Your brother has an easier job here; he just has to stand firm, and provide you with the documents showing that he is the sole heir.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

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

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

Harry, the second son of King Charles III and estranged brother of heir to the throne Prince William, married the American Meghan, a former actress, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Billy Evans, the hotel heir and father of Elizabeth Holmes’ two children, has become a central figure in Nathan Fielder’s documentary ‘You Can See Everything.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Even if the match was positive, Estimo claimed that Jinky Young is still entitled to be named an heir, because Bobby treated her as a daughter.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Roughly $79 trillion is expected to transfer from boomers to their heirs by 2048, according to Cerulli Associates, an asset-management research firm.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Cumbria Connect is part of a scheme paid for by the Arcadia Fund which was co-founded by one of the heirs to the Tetra Pak fortune.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

These were people who ruled a country, the heirs to generations of rulers.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

The heirs stared at the answer: Berthe Erica Crow.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

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Related Words

• beneficiary
• inheritor
• scion
• successor

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