successor

[suhk-ses-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that succeeds or follows.

2. a person who succeeds another in an office, position, or the like.

successor

/ səkˈsɛsə /

noun

1. a person or thing that follows, esp a person who succeeds another in an office

2. logic the element related to a given element by a serial ordering, esp the natural number next larger to a given one. The successor of n is n + 1, usually written Sn or n′

Other Word Forms

• successoral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of successor¹

1250–1300; < Latin, equivalent to succed-, variant stem of succēdere to succeed + -tor -tor, with dt > ss; replacing Middle English successour < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Greenspan responded by building consensus more carefully in between meetings, and his successors continued the practice.

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But if he were to step down, any would-be successor would first need to win a selection contest before a by-election was held.

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In the video, Mordisco warned of repercussions for next year's election, which will determine the successor to the country's left-wing president who is constitutionally barred from running again.

Read more on Barron's

The board has started a formal search process for a permanent successor, but Andrew Harrison, chief executive of the U.K. division, will assume the role of group CEO on an interim basis, WH Smith said.

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Oedipus calls himself Laius’ “successor, the inheritor of his legacy,” and in true Sophoclean fashion he speaks more than he knows.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• replacement