succumb
Americanverb
-
to give way in face of the overwhelming force (of) or desire (for)
-
to be fatally overwhelmed (by disease, old age, etc); die (of)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have succumbedperfect
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has succumbedperfect 3rd person singular
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are succumbingprogressive
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have been succumbingperfect progressive
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is succumbingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am succumbingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been succumbingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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succumbssingular 3rd person
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succumbingparticiple
Past
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had succumbedperfect
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had been succumbingperfect progressive
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was succumbingprogressive singular
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were succumbingprogressive plural
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succumbedparticiple
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succumbedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of succumb
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin succumbere, from suc- suc- + -cumbere (derivative of cubāre “to lie down, recline”); cf. incumbent
Explanation
Use the verb succumb to say that someone yields to something they've tried to fight off, such as despair, temptation, disease or injury. If you succumb to cancer, it means you die of it. From this sentence you can see that this verb is usually followed by the preposition to. The Latin root is succumbere, from the prefix sub- "under" plus -cumbere "to lie down."
Vocabulary lists containing succumb
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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List 3
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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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.
These kinds of commoditized industries tend to succumb to price wars: The lowest-cost producer “wins” by destroying the entire industry’s margins.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
We can all live and work together—or we can succumb to fatalism and a false sense of inevitability.
From Slate • May 28, 2026
Adult Joshua trees are more resilient than seedlings, but they can still succumb to intense heat waves and drought.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
He instructed his crew to tie him to the ship’s mast of his ship so that he could listen and yet not succumb.
From MarketWatch • May 2, 2026
More complex units don’t always conquer less complex ones but may succumb to them, as when the Roman and Chinese Empires were overrun by “barbarian” and Mongol chiefdoms, respectively.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
