succumb

American

[suh-kuhm] / səˈkʌm /

verb (used without object)

to give way to superior force; yield.

to succumb to despair.

Synonyms:

surrender, accede, submit
to yield to disease, wounds, old age, etc.; die.

succumb British

/ səˈkʌm /

verb

to give way in face of the overwhelming force (of) or desire (for)
to be fatally overwhelmed (by disease, old age, etc); die (of)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

succumber noun
unsuccumbing adjective

Etymology

Origin of succumb

First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin succumbere, from suc- suc- + -cumbere (derivative of cubāre “to lie down, recline”); incumbent

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023