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
-
to come into possession (of property, etc); inherit
-
(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
-
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
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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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:
But he’s focused on helping his two stepsons, Carter and Isaiah Barnes, and educating his Crespi players on what it takes to succeed on and off the court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2026
I find the right show for my mood, and succeed in making it play glitch-free, and at an appropriate volume, on the device of my choice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2026
Germany and France are locked in talks to decide who will succeed Christine Lagarde as European Central Bank president, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2026
Pochettino was mentioned as a contender to succeed Louis van Gaal when he was sacked by United in May 2016, then when Jose Mourinho suffered the same fate in December 2018.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
Without storm or fire, their quest couldn’t succeed.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
He succeeds Niclas Neglén, who will remain as CFO until the end of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
If neither candidate succeeds in forming a government, another election must be held.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
He succeeds Peter Alexander, who left “Saturday Today” in March to become a daytime anchor at MS NOW.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Jackson succeeds Claude Russ, who stepped in as FedEx’s interim chief financial officer in June after John Dietrich stepped down following the spinoff of FedEx Freight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
If he succeeds, Lincoln’s prayer for a reunified United States of America may never be answered.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Countries have succeeded in regaining measles-elimination status, but it has taken time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2026
But Palmer has only featured in three of Tuchel's 27 games since he succeeded Gareth Southgate as manager.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
Pena was succeeded by former vice president Pedro Alliana, who promised not to abandon the almost three million depositors, including pensioners, affected by Ueno's demise.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
Other experiments provided indirect evidence of their existence, and researchers succeeded in creating several related derivatives.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Mr. Knightley seemed to be trying not to smile; and succeeded without difficulty, upon Mrs. Elton’s beginning to talk to him.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
"The fact that a lot of them are succeeding at the first opportunity is a good result," the minister said.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
And by making the personally repulsive Hegseth an example, they would set a salutary precedent for every succeeding presidential administration.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
That’s partly by design, since succeeding as a paper son meant living a life of concealment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
“Moving sooner in smaller steps while inflation expectations are anchored has a better chance of succeeding without adverse impact on the labor market or economic growth,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Worse, though, in either failing or succeeding, they might anger the king—and thus cause him to let the thread go.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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