inheritor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of inheritor
First recorded in 1400–50, inheritor is from the late Middle English word enheritour, enheriter. See inherit, -or 2
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 nizam’s court, with its sumptuous palaces, its concubines, its rituals and recitations of poetry and music, was the chief inheritor of the archaic grandeur of the moguls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Oedipus calls himself Laius’ “successor, the inheritor of his legacy,” and in true Sophoclean fashion he speaks more than he knows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
“Changing a name does not change the roots,” she said, adding when asked, “yes, also an inheritor of Petain,” referring to Marshall Philippe Petain, who headed the collaborationist Vichy government in WWII.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
From new wunderkid hero at the Camp Nou and inheritor of Lionel Messi's number 10 shirt, to an almost forgotten man as his young body was ravaged by injuries.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2023
Soon after John Mayer put on the Space Task Group jersey, Carl Huss and Ted Skopinski followed suit, making Katherine the natural inheritor of the research report that would describe Project Mercury’s orbital flight.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
