inherit

[ in-her-it ]

verb (used with object)

1. to take or receive (property, a right, a title, etc.) by succession or will, as an heir:

   to inherit the family business.

2. to receive as if by succession from predecessors:

   the problems the new government inherited from the previous administration.

3. to receive (a genetic character or trait) by the transmission of hereditary factors.
4. to succeed (a person) as heir.
5. to receive as one's portion; come into possession of:

   to inherit his brother's old clothes.

verb (used without object)

1. to take or receive property or the like by virtue of being heir to it.
2. to receive qualities, powers, duties, etc., as by inheritance (followed by from ).
3. to have succession as heir.

inherit

/ ɪnˈhɛrɪt /

verb

1. to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
2. intr to succeed as heir
3. tr to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
4. tr to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor

Derived Forms

• inˈheritress, noun:feminine
• inˈheritor, noun
• inˈherited, adjective

Other Words From

• pre·in·her·it verb (used with object)
• re·in·her·it verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of inherit¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English en(h)erit(i)en, from Middle French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre “to make heir”; in- ³, hereditary

Word History and Origins

Origin of inherit¹

C14: from Old French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre to appoint an heir, from Latin hērēs heir

Example Sentences

Dame Angela said Labour was making the asylum system "fit for purpose" after inheriting "an unholy mess" - where fewer than 1,000 cases a month were being processed.

From BBC

Currently, pedigrees are how horse owners and breeders find out which stallions are in a horse's ancestry, which gives information on the traits a horse may have inherited.

From Science Daily

She inherits a roster that was hit hard by injuries last season while pushing to rebuild around young talent.

From Los Angeles Times

His farming career began in the 1970s when he inherited a rubber plantation in the the southern Indian state of Kerala , which he managed alongside his career as a doctor.

From BBC

The sequence of building blocks has evolved over a long period of time; we all inherit them from our parents.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• acquire
• derive
• obtain
• receive
• succeed
• take over