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
-
(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
-
succeedsimple
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succeedssimple
-
have succeededperfect
-
has succeededperfect
-
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:
She said she would continue to coach and support the league so it could continue to succeed and flourish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
According to tradition, a recognised son of the late king should succeed him.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The more Oura’s rings succeed in the market, the likelier these tech giants are to launch their own.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
To succeed, Muse will have to overcome a few hurdles—namely, getting people to trust it enough to hand over access to their email, bank and other online accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
I assured them that they already had what it would take to succeed.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Van succeeds Cary Dickson, who has made the decision to retire but will serve as a consultant to the company for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
If it succeeds, GSK told investors that it plans to submit the vaccine to the FDA for an updated label in 2029 at the earliest.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Beyond shifting from a multi-cam comedy to single-cam and Brandy’s changed-up theme song, this “Different World” succeeds by maintaining a wonderfully familiar energy… like coming back home.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
She says the campaign with Jenner is one example of how the chain is trying to tap into a younger audience, adding that if the promotion succeeds "maybe that younger audience sticks".
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Even when technology succeeds in manufacturing a machine as big as Texas to do everything we recognize as human, it will still be, at best, a single individual.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Like many neighbouring producers, his family estate Carussin has succeeded in moving upmarket thanks to the production of organic wines exported in particular to Scandinavia.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
The Orange Order's legal challenge to a ruling in June this year succeeded on procedural grounds.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“There was this whole museum movement to get away from a march through time, to a more episodic or specific sort of story,” John Gray, who succeeded Glass in 2012, told ProPublica.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Xu said Plaud had explored acquisitions, but none had succeeded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
And if Hellmuth’s mission succeeded, the Allies would face a stronger and more dangerous partnership between Germany and Argentina.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Diageo DGE -0.34%decrease; red down pointing triangle named WPP WPP -0.94%decrease; red down pointing triangle finance chief Joanne Wilson as its next chief financial officer, succeeding Nik Jhangiani.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
While the Old Trafford job appeared to be too much for Moyes to handle, lasting only 10 months before being sacked, Maresca seems to be embracing the "challenge" and "privilege" of succeeding Guardiola.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Meanwhile, Conservative county councillor Lee Scott said: "We're not opposing it, but we are in the future looking at it to see if it's succeeding and making people feel safe."
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Workday named Google marketing executive Sarah Kennedy Ellis as its next CMO, succeeding Emma Chalwin, who left to join Accenture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
And my mother, who tried all her life to believe in God without ever quite succeeding, looked up at him for guidance.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
