successor

American  

[suhk-ses-er] / səkˈsɛs ər /

noun

• successors
  plural

1. a person or thing that succeeds or follows.

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

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successor British  

/ 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′

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• successoral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• successors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of successor

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

Explanation

If you are successor to the throne, that means you're next in line when the current royal has to step down. The successor takes over when someone gives up a position or title or when something becomes outdated. The noun successor was first used in the 13th century to mean "one who comes after." It's often used in reference to a royal court, where the successor is usually the king's eldest son. If something happens to the U.S. president, the vice president is the designated successor and will assume the position of head of government. It seems like every day there's a new and improved computer, a successor that replaces an earlier model.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

successor successors

Do you have the firm listed as the successor trustee?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

In contrast, his successor Andy Burnham, an English Literature graduate, has spoken of his fondness for poetry, in particular the works of Tony Harrison and Philip Larkin.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

His successor inherits an economy beset by challenges, including fragile growth, flaring inflation and a volatile rupiah.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

As parliament approved his successor, a few dozen people gathered in a last-ditch effort to voice discontent with Fedorov's dismissal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Joe McCormick was the successor to Karl Johnson—he had been appointed to the job when Johnson retired.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

His long stay abroad has also stoked talk of a post-Biya future and accelerated jockeying among would-be successors as questions over who might replace him persist.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

As Cuba marks 100 years since Fidel Castro's birth, Cubans are questioning the promises of the socialist revolution he led for nearly half a century, and asking whether his successors are up to the job.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Earlier, he told an Edinburgh Fringe event that leading Scottish Labour was the hardest job in British politics and urged his potential successors to avoid infighting.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

One reason is that the annals of Congress are full of female successors who did exactly that, partly out of fidelity to their seats’ previous occupants.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

His successors strengthened the resulting embryonic Zulu state by expanding its judicial system, policing, and ceremonies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• replacement