inherit
Americanverb (used with object)
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inherits,
present (3rd person singular)
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inherited,
past participle, past
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inheriting
present participle
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to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir.
to inherit the family business.
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to receive as if by succession from predecessors.
the problems the new government inherited from the previous administration.
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to receive (a genetic character or trait) by the transmission of hereditary factors.
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to succeed (a person) as heir.
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to receive as one's portion; come into possession of.
to inherit his brother's old clothes.
verb (used without object)
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inherits,
present (3rd person singular)
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inherited,
past participle, past
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inheriting
present participle
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to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.
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to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed byfrom ).
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to have succession as heir.
verb
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to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
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(intr) to succeed as heir
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(tr) to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
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(tr) to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inheritornoun
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inheritressnoun
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reinheritverb
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preinheritverb (used with object)
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inheritedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inheritsimple
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inheritssimple
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have inheritedperfect
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has inheritedperfect
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am inheritingprogressive
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are inheritingprogressive
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is inheritingprogressive
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have been inheritingperfect progressive
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has been inheritingperfect progressive
Past
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inheritedsimple
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had inheritedperfect
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was inheritingprogressive
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were inheritingprogressive
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had been inheritingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inherit
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English en(h)erit(i)en, from Middle French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre “to make heir”; see in- 3, hereditary
Explanation
When your grandmother dies, you might inherit her tea set. Regardless of her death, you might inherit her sense of humor or rather large nose. To inherit is to receive from a predecessor. When you are talking about property, inherit is always used to describe something you get after someone else has died. However, there doesn't have to be a death involved to use the word inherit. When you start a new job, you might inherit less than pleasant tasks from the person who had the job before you. You might also quickly inherit their desire to find a new place to work.
Vocabulary lists containing inherit
Word Generation Science - Life Science
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Genetics - Inheritance and Variation of Traits
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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:
The proposed new facility would inherit some equipment from the older base.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
I did not inherit the Eagles, which is the strange part.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Does a 2% beneficiary inherit 100% if the 98% beneficiary dies in a car accident?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
He said he didn’t inherit Loiczly’s debts thanks to franchise laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
I did not inherit any of Dad’s good looks.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
The Angel Stadium lease that Kroenke inherits requires the team name to “include the name Anaheim therein.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
The lateral septum inherits much of its primary input from a brain region called the hippocampus.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
The former securities regulator and federal prosecutor succeeds Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month, and inherits an 18-agency intelligence community shaken by leadership turnover and staff cuts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The next part of the will would read: "Whichsoever pair made the most money with the ten thousand dollars inherits the whole estate."
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
The team compared genetic patterns associated with GLP1R activity with genes found in men who have androgenetic alopecia, the inherited form of hair loss that typically affects the top and front of the scalp.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Freedom, in this understanding, doesn’t require the destruction of inherited institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The actor later teamed up with investigative journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby who had inherited all of the campaigner's documents and research.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
When Rolison died nearly 40 years later, Losinger inherited roughly $1 million.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
“He had a powerful business partner, I believe, who died suddenly and left him everything: so he essentially inherited the city wholesale. Anja has a network of people who report to her,” said Irian.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
A bereaved man says he has been hit with a "death tax" after inheriting his mother's home.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
John Ternus takes over as Apple's chief executive on Tuesday, inheriting a company that towers over the smartphone market but trails its rivals in artificial intelligence.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Kanin’s attorneys argue the disbursement delay was caused by incomplete records and due diligence concerns — worries further snarled by the so-called slayer statute barring Californians from inheriting from people they have killed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
It can happen — for example, if you inherit from a sibling who never married or had children — but it’s far less common than inheriting from a parent or grandparent.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
It is, he thinks, an even greater commitment than inheriting responsibility for the family farm.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
