Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense inherits, present participle inheriting, past tense, past participle inherited
1. verb
If you inherit money or property, you receive it from someone who has died.
He has no son to inherit his land. [VERB noun]
...paintings that he inherited from his father. [VERB noun + from]
...people with inherited wealth. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: be left, come into, be willed, accede to More Synonyms of inherit
2. verb
If you inherit something such as a task, problem, or attitude, you get it from the people who used to have it, for example because you have taken over their job or been influenced by them.
The government inherited an impossible situation from its predecessors. [VERB noun + from]
Our legal system inherited laws from the English system. [VERB noun from noun]
...the inherited wisdoms contained in its social hierarchy. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: take over, take on, acquire, take up More Synonyms of inherit
3. verb
If you inherit a characteristic or quality, you are born with it, because your parents or ancestors also had it.
We inherit many of our physical characteristics from our parents. [VERB noun + from]
Her children have inherited her love of sport. [VERB noun]
Stammering is probably an inherited defect. [VERB-ed]
inherit in British English
(ɪnˈhɛrɪt)
verbWord forms: -its, -iting or -ited
1.
to receive (property, a right, title, etc) by succession or under a will
2. (intransitive)
to succeed as heir
3. (transitive)
to possess (a characteristic) through genetic transmission
4. (transitive)
to receive (a position, attitude, property, etc) from a predecessor
Derived forms
inherited (inˈherited)
adjective
inheritor (inˈheritor)
noun
inheritress (inˈheritress) or inheritrix (inˈheritrix)
feminine noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French enheriter, from Late Latin inhērēditāre to appoint an heir, from Latin hērēsheir
inherit in American English
(ɪnˈhɛrɪt)
verb transitive
1. Obsolete
to transfer property to (an heir)
2.
a.
to receive (an ancestor's property, title, etc.) by the laws of inheritance upon the ancestor's death
b.
to receive (property) by bequest
3.
to receive as if by inheritance from a predecessor
4.
to have (certain characteristics) by heredity
verb intransitive
5.
to receive an inheritance; become an heir
Derived forms
inheritor (inˈheritor)
noun
Word origin
ME enheriten < OFr enheriter < LL inhereditare, to appoint as heir, inherit < L in, in + heres, heir
Examples of 'inherit' in a sentence
inherit
But people who have inherited money look at it differently from those who have made it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My father inherited from his father and from his father.
The Sun (2017)
And those lucky enough to inherit also tend to be those who have been helped in other ways.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Instead of two copies of a gene, some people might have inherited a dozen or more.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She inherited her father 's love of art and eye for detail.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For many of them, the value has grown over the years and is only realised when they come to downsize or the property is inherited and sold.
The Sun (2016)
People with inherited illnesses will also benefit.
The Sun (2014)
The most likely explanation for his collapse is an inherited defect.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They can also be an inherited condition.
The Sun (2010)
This stepped up basis greatly reduced taxes on the sale of inherited property.
Christianity Today (2000)
Our people have inherited a good deal of hatred.
George Eliot Daniel Deronda (1876)
He will also inherit a healthy work ethic.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But they are selling because she has inherited a property.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He also inherited a lot from his godfather two years ago but wasted it.
The Sun (2013)
But he also inherited a love of mechanics.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Buyers who want to check on inherited defects find that the internet is a valuable source of information.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
That's a problem the government inherited.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Previously, only the eldest son could inherit property.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
If one of them dies, the bereaved partner could also automatically inherit their home.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
If a joint tenant dies, the other automatically inherits the property.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Much of this waste was caused because we inherited a government that didn't keep track of spending.
The Sun (2011)
Few governments have inherited such a miserable economic situation, but that is not the core of the problem.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We are entering a new era of genetic medicine in which it is becoming possible to profile all people for their inherited risk of disease.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He inherited from his father a share in a family firm that had been making toys and other goods since the 19th century.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Five per cent of all people inherit a genetic tendency to have high blood fats, which cancels out the female protective factor.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
The Government inherited this problem.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
People who inherit two long copies, one from each parent, tend to be the most content.
The Sun (2011)
Yet as the archbishop says, it doesn't actually matter what he inherited from his father and there is no point in blaming his childhood.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
inherit
British English: inherit /ɪnˈhɛrɪt/ VERB
If you inherit money or property, you receive it from someone who has died.
He inherited these paintings from his father.
American English: inherit
Arabic: يَرِثُ
Brazilian Portuguese: herdar
Chinese: 继承
Croatian: naslijediti
Czech: zdědit
Danish: arve
Dutch: erven
European Spanish: heredar
Finnish: periä saada perintönä
French: hériter
German: erben
Greek: κληρονομώ
Italian: ereditare
Japanese: 相続する
Korean: 물려받다
Norwegian: arve
Polish: odziedziczyć
European Portuguese: herdar
Romanian: a moșteni
Russian: наследовать
Latin American Spanish: heredar
Swedish: ärva
Thai: รับมรดก
Turkish: miras almak
Ukrainian: успадковувати
Vietnamese: thừa kế
Chinese translation of 'inherit'
inherit
(ɪnˈhɛrɪt)
vt
[property, money]继(繼)承 (jìchéng)
[characteristic, disease]由遗(遺)传(傳)而得 (yóu yíchuán ér dé)
[situation]接手 (jiēshǒu)
1 (verb)
Definition
to receive money, property, or a title from someone who has died
They have no child to inherit their property.
Synonyms
be left
come into
be willed
accede to
when Henry VIII acceded to the throne
succeed to
be bequeathed
fall heir to
2 (verb)
Definition
to receive (a position or situation) from a predecessor
The government inherited an impossibly difficult situation.