succeed
Americanverb (used without object)
-
succeeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
succeeded,
past participle, past
-
succeeding
present participle
-
to happen or terminate according to desire; turn out successfully; have the desired result.
Our efforts succeeded.
- Antonyms:
- fail
-
to thrive, prosper, grow, or the like.
Grass will not succeed in this dry soil.
- Antonyms:
- fail
-
to accomplish what is attempted or intended.
We succeeded in our efforts to start the car.
- Antonyms:
- fail
-
to attain success in some popularly recognized form, as wealth or standing.
The class voted him the one most likely to succeed.
- Antonyms:
- fail
-
to follow or replace another by descent, election, appointment, etc. (often followed byto ).
-
to come next after something else in an order or series.
verb (used with object)
-
succeeds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
succeeded,
past participle, past
-
succeeding
present participle
-
to come after and take the place of, as in an office or estate.
-
to come next after in an order or series, or in the course of events; follow.
- Antonyms:
- precede
verb
-
(intr) to accomplish an aim, esp in the manner desired
he succeeded in winning
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(intr) to happen in the manner desired
the plan succeeded
-
(intr) to acquit oneself satisfactorily or do well, as in a specified field
to succeed in publishing
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to come next in order (after someone or something)
-
to take over an office, post, etc (from a person)
he succeeded to the vice presidency
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to come into possession (of property, etc); inherit
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(intr) to have a result according to a specified manner
the plan succeeded badly
-
(intr) to devolve upon
the estate succeeded to his son
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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succeedsimple
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succeedssimple
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have succeededperfect
-
has succeededperfect
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am succeedingprogressive
-
are succeedingprogressive
-
is succeedingprogressive
-
have been succeedingperfect progressive
-
has been succeedingperfect progressive
Past
-
succeededsimple
-
had succeededperfect
-
was succeedingprogressive
-
were succeedingprogressive
-
had been succeedingperfect progressive
Future
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” ( see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing succeed
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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"Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience"
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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.
See Examples For:
Employment lawyer Libby Payne said: "It is possible to argue that the terms of the option are inherently unfair and therefore void, although the threshold for this is high and such challenges rarely succeed."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Five women and three men are in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres as leader of the United Nations, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
But the state shouldn’t try to predict which industries or businesses will succeed, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Enter his commitment to succeed on the football field and in the classroom, as well as to be a role model for his younger brother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
With his popularity soaring after the War of 1812, Jackson ran for president in 1824, hoping to succeed President James Monroe.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Mitchell’s film succeeds where others have failed because it runs on its feelings rather than its features.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
He shows little faith in quiet progress, as in: Set good policy in place and hope it succeeds inch by inch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Tewolde Gebremariam succeeds Campbell Wilson, who stepped down from the role in April.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
And, if a project succeeds, you’ve left a paper trail that shows you were instrumental in its execution.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Yet when it succeeds, it gives Sapiens immense power, because it enables millions of strangers to cooperate and work towards common goals.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
However, it is fair to accept United's data and recruitment department have succeeded in reshaping Michael Carrick's midfield.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Burnham succeeded former Labour Party leader Keir Starmer as prime minister on July 20.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
All three approaches had been tested individually before, but none had succeeded in permanently clearing the virus.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Cracker Barrel announced in July that Chief Executive Julie Masino would depart this month, succeeded by restaurant industry veteran David Deno.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
And, anyway, would I even have succeeded in attracting their attention if I’d tried?
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
"I stand ready to help renew the UN Charter's foundational promise: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
In “Buddenbrooks,” Thomas Mann depicted succeeding generations living comfortably on inherited wealth while progressively losing the hard bourgeois virtues that created it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The prospect of a Flintoff succeeding Stokes, after Stokes succeeded a Flintoff, as England's all-rounder is tantalising if, at this point, a long way off.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
But the coaches know they have someone passionate about succeeding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Even if the succeeding sensations are not common, they are at least not mysterious.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
