inheritance

[ in-her-i-tuhns ]
See synonyms for inheritance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something that is or may be inherited; property passing at the owner's death to the heir or those entitled to succeed; legacy.

  2. the genetic characters transmitted from parent to offspring, taken collectively.

  1. something, as a quality, characteristic, or other immaterial possession, received from progenitors or predecessors as if by succession: an inheritance of family pride.

  2. the act or fact of inheriting by succession, as if by succession, or genetically: to receive property by inheritance.

  3. portion; birthright; heritage: Absolute rule was considered the inheritance of kings.

  4. Obsolete. right of possession; ownership.

Origin of inheritance

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English enheritance, from Anglo-French; equivalent to inherit + -ance

synonym study For inheritance

1. Inheritance, heritage denote something inherited. Inheritance is the common term for property or any possession that comes to an heir: He received the farm as an inheritance from his parents. Heritage indicates something that is bequeathed to a subsequent generation by an individual or by society: our cultural heritage from Greece and Rome.

Other words for inheritance

Other words from inheritance

  • pre·in·her·it·ance, noun

Words Nearby inheritance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use inheritance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for inheritance

inheritance

/ (ɪnˈhɛrɪtəns) /


noun
  1. law

    • hereditary succession to an estate, title, etc

    • the right of an heir to succeed to property on the death of an ancestor

    • something that may legally be transmitted to an heir

  2. the act of inheriting

  1. something inherited; heritage

  2. the derivation of characteristics of one generation from an earlier one by heredity

  3. obsolete hereditary rights

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

Scientific definitions for inheritance

inheritance

[ ĭn-hĕrĭ-təns ]


  1. The process by which traits or characteristics pass from parents to offspring through the genes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.