succeed

American  

[suhk-seed] / səkˈsid /

verb (used without object)

1. to happen or terminate according to desire; turn out successfully; have the desired result.

   Our efforts succeeded.

   Antonyms:

   fail

2. to thrive, prosper, grow, or the like.

   Grass will not succeed in this dry soil.

   Antonyms:

   fail

3. to accomplish what is attempted or intended.

   We succeeded in our efforts to start the car.

   Antonyms:

   fail

4. to attain success in some popularly recognized form, as wealth or standing.

   The class voted him the one most likely to succeed.

   Antonyms:

   fail

5. to follow or replace another by descent, election, appointment, etc. (often followed byto ).

6. to come next after something else in an order or series.

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verb (used with object)

1. to come after and take the place of, as in an office or estate.

2. to come next after in an order or series, or in the course of events; follow.

   Antonyms:

   precede

succeed British  

/ səkˈsiːd /

verb

1. (intr) to accomplish an aim, esp in the manner desired

   he succeeded in winning

2. (intr) to happen in the manner desired

   the plan succeeded

3. (intr) to acquit oneself satisfactorily or do well, as in a specified field

   to succeed in publishing

4. to come next in order (after someone or something)

5. to take over an office, post, etc (from a person)

   he succeeded to the vice presidency

6. to come into possession (of property, etc); inherit

7. (intr) to have a result according to a specified manner

   the plan succeeded badly

8. (intr) to devolve upon

   the estate succeeded to his son

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Related Words

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

• succeedable adjective
• succeeder noun
• succeeding adjective
• succeedingly adverb

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.

Example Sentences

Analysts think that for Intel to turn around its foundry business, it needs to succeed with 14A by attracting external customers.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

Let commercial banks, she proposed, be allowed to fail as well as succeed, and to compete for the confidence of depositors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Trump announced in January that Warsh, 56, was his choice to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

The findings also help explain why therapies aimed at blocking glutamine do not always succeed.

From Science Daily • Apr. 20, 2026

We’ve laid up a two-year food supply, so that even if we don’t succeed in growing a good crop the first year, we won’t go hungry.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

Related Words

• accomplish
• achieve
• benefit
• flourish
• gain
• get
• overcome
• prevail
• prosper
• realize
• thrive
• triumph
• win