succeed

American  

[suhk-seed] / səkˈsid /

verb (used without object)

1. to happen or terminate according to desire; turn out successfully; have the desired result.

   Our efforts succeeded.

   Antonyms:

   fail

2. to thrive, prosper, grow, or the like.

   Grass will not succeed in this dry soil.

   Antonyms:

   fail

3. to accomplish what is attempted or intended.

   We succeeded in our efforts to start the car.

   Antonyms:

   fail

4. to attain success in some popularly recognized form, as wealth or standing.

   The class voted him the one most likely to succeed.

   Antonyms:

   fail

5. to follow or replace another by descent, election, appointment, etc. (often followed byto ).

6. to come next after something else in an order or series.

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verb (used with object)

1. to come after and take the place of, as in an office or estate.

2. to come next after in an order or series, or in the course of events; follow.

   Antonyms:

   precede

succeed British  

/ səkˈsiːd /

verb

1. (intr) to accomplish an aim, esp in the manner desired

   he succeeded in winning

2. (intr) to happen in the manner desired

   the plan succeeded

3. (intr) to acquit oneself satisfactorily or do well, as in a specified field

   to succeed in publishing

4. to come next in order (after someone or something)

5. to take over an office, post, etc (from a person)

   he succeeded to the vice presidency

6. to come into possession (of property, etc); inherit

7. (intr) to have a result according to a specified manner

   the plan succeeded badly

8. (intr) to devolve upon

   the estate succeeded to his son

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Related Words

Succeed, flourish, prosper, thrive mean to do well. To succeed is to turn out well, to attain a goal: It is everyone's wish to succeed in life. To flourish is to give evidence of success or a ripe development of power, reputation, etc.: Culture flourishes among free people. To prosper is to achieve and enjoy material success: He prospered but was still discontented. Thrive suggests vigorous growth and development such as results from natural vitality or favorable conditions: The children thrived in the sunshine. See follow.

Other Word Forms

• succeedable adjective
• succeeder noun
• succeeding adjective
• succeedingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of succeed

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English succeden from Old French succeder, from Latin succēdere “to go (from) under, follow, prosper,” equivalent to suc- suc- + cēdere “to go” ( cede )

Explanation

When you succeed at something, you reach a goal or do really well. If you practice speaking Arabic every day, you are likely to succeed at becoming fluent in this language. When you succeed, you achieve the result you hope for, but another way to use succeed is to describe taking over a position. A prince who will inherit his father's kingdom will succeed his father one day, and a new high school principal can be said to succeed the old one. The Latin root of succeed is succedere, come close after.

Example Sentences

Staying even-tempered at the most famously punishing golf course in the world is a trait which two of the big names hoping to unseat McIlroy also recognise is necessary to succeed there.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Bignell is the third innovation chief to exit in under three years; Andy Caine will succeed him as of Sunday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Nneka Ogwumike is coming home in a strong endorsement of the Sparks’ vow to succeed during the upcoming season.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

By six months, however, the CSE-deficient mice struggled to find the escape route, while normal mice continued to succeed.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

I read the poem again with all this background information in mind, and now it seems like Emily Dickinson disapproved of people who wanted to succeed.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• benefit
• flourish
• gain
• get
• overcome
• prevail
• prosper
• realize
• thrive
• triumph
• win