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 The successor takes over when someone gives up a position or title or when something becomes outdated.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

He had been asked about the stances of Newsom and his potential successor, Xavier Becerra, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

In theory, the race to nominate his successor could end Tuesday, should one candidate win an outright majority.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Big Short” investor Michael Burry, wrote that he has feared any successor to Buffett would be “too old,” and have no patience for “the fat pitch,” in reference to Abel.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

She has seized on the early releases to do try to do the same with his successor.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

This was the spiritual successor of the failed Lyncean Society, which never recovered from the death of Frederico Cesi.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

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

None of Graham’s aspiring successors will fill that role, but some may come closer to it than others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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, Ms. Jones shows, refashioned Disraeli the opportunist as a prophetic figure who adapted successfully to the new challenges of modernity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

For his successors, in fact, the main task was not to discover whether Indians’ ancestors had walked over from Eurasia, but which Europeans or Asians had done the walking.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• replacement