inherit

[ in-her-it ]

verb (used with object)

1. to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir:

   to inherit the family business.

2. to receive as if by succession from predecessors:

   the problems the new government inherited from the previous administration.

3. to receive (a genetic character or trait) by the transmission of hereditary factors.
4. to succeed (a person) as heir.
5. to receive as one's portion; come into possession of:

   to inherit his brother's old clothes.

verb (used without object)

1. to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.
2. to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed by from ).
3. to have succession as heir.

inherit

/ ɪnˈhɛrɪt /

verb

1. to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
2. intr to succeed as heir
3. tr to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
4. tr to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor

Derived Forms

• inˈheritress, noun:feminine
• inˈheritor, noun
• inˈherited, adjective

Other Words From

• pre·in·her·it verb (used with object)
• re·in·her·it verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of inherit¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English en(h)erit(i)en, from Middle French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre “to make heir”; in- ³, hereditary

Word History and Origins

Origin of inherit¹

C14: from Old French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre to appoint an heir, from Latin hērēs heir

Example Sentences

Assad junior inherited a tightly controlled and repressive political structure, where opposition was not tolerated.

From BBC

"Building 1.5 million homes over five years means tackling the housing crisis we inherited head-on with bold action," she added.

From BBC

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have inherited enormous pressures in the asylum system and remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels as we ramp up returns of failed asylum seekers."

From BBC

Because their method relies on a pretrained diffusion model, it inherits the biases and shortcomings of that model, making it prone to hallucinations and other failures.

From Science Daily

Unlike Kennedy, Wilson undertook her crusade without the advantages of inherited wealth.

From Salon

Related Words

• acquire
• derive
• obtain
• receive
• succeed
• take over