heir
noun
\ Ėer
\
\
Definition of heir
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property
was her father's sole heir
2
: one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office
heir to the throne
3
: one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor
saw himself as the logical heir to the slain dictator
heir
verb
heired;
heiring;
heirs
Definition of heir (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from heir
Noun
heirless
\ Ėer-lÉs
\
adjective
\
adjective
heirship
\ Ėer-Ėship
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of heir in a Sentence
Noun
His heirs could inherit millions of dollars. The king left no heirs when he died.Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Ashoura commemorates the killing of the Prophet Muhammadās grandson, the Imam Hussein, by a rival Muslim faction in Karbala in present day Iraq, in 680 A.D. Hussein and his descendants are seen by Shiites as the rightful heirs to the prophet. — Washington Post, "The Latest: 12 killed in Iraq during Ashoura procession," 11 Sep. 2019 Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden had been viewed as an eventual heir to the leadership of al-Qaida but was killed in a military operation, U.S. officials have said. — CBS News, "On 9/11, al Qaeda leader calls for attacks on U.S. and slams jihad "backtrackers"," 11 Sep. 2019 The president has long seen Ivanka as the natural heir to his business empire and seems to favor her over his other children. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Trump Organizationās Hostile Takeover of the U.S. Government," 10 Sep. 2019 Since its beginnings, Esalen has been hailed as the heir to the American transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau, and itās been dismissed as the festival grounds for navel-gazing and Boomer narcissism. — Wallace Baine, SFChronicle.com, "Whatās next for the Esalen Institute?," 5 Sep. 2019 The film positioned Spider-Man as an heir to the Avengers mantle. — Niraj Chokshi, New York Times, "Did the Marvel Cinematic Universe Just Lose Spider-Man? Fans Reel at Sony-Disney Split," 22 Aug. 2019 Her son, Prince Miguel survived to the age of two before passing, leaving Juana as the heir to Castile and Aragon. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "What Was Catherine of Aragon's Sister, Juana la Loca, Really Like?," 10 June 2019 As a direct heir to the throne, Prince William has a different set of rules to follow than Prince Harry, who, though the son of the future King of England, will likely not sit on the throne. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "How Meghan & Harry's Birth Announcement Compares to William & Kate's," 6 May 2019 The move signals that the firm is grooming Mr. Wiedman, 48 years old, as a possible heir to Mr. Fink, 66. — Dawn Lim, WSJ, "BlackRock Elevates Potential Successor to CEO Laurence Fink," 11 Jan. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for heir
heir
noun
English Language Learners Definition of heir
: a person who has the legal right to receive the property of someone who dies
: a person who has the right to become a king or queen or to claim a title when the person holding it dies
See the full definition for heir in the English Language Learners Dictionary
heir
noun
\ Ėer
\
\
Kids Definition of heir
1
: a person who inherits or has the right to inherit property after the death of its owner
2
: a person who has legal claim to a title or a throne when the person holding it dies
heir
noun
\ Ėar
\
\
Legal Definition of heir
: one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to the possession of property after the death of its owner: as
a
: one who by operation of law inherits the property and especially the real property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will
—used in jurisdictions whose law is based on English common law
— called also heir at law, heir general, legal heir
ā compare issue