inherit
verb
in·her·it
| \ in-ˈher-ət
, -ˈhe-rət\
, -ˈhe-rət\
inherited;
inheriting;
inherits
Definition of inherit
1
: to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion
and every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters … for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life — Matthew 19:29 (Revised Standard Version)
2a
: to receive from an ancestor as a right or title descendible by law at the ancestor's death
b
: to receive as a devise or legacy
3
: to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission
inherit a defective enzyme
4
: to have in turn or receive as if from an ancestor
inherited the problem from his predecessor
: to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance
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Other Words from inherit
inheritor
\ in-ˈher-ə-tər
, -ˈhe-rə- \
noun
, -ˈhe-rə- \
noun
inheritress
\ in-ˈher-ə-trəs
, -ˈhe-rə- \
or inheritrix \ in-ˈher-ə-(ˌ)triks
, -ˈhe-rə- \
noun
, -ˈhe-rə- \
or inheritrix \ in-ˈher-ə-(ˌ)triks
, -ˈhe-rə- \
noun
Examples of inherit in a Sentence
She inherited the family business from her father.
Baldness is inherited from the mother's side of the family.
She inherited her father's deep blue eyes.
She inherited a love of baseball from her dad.
When my brother left for college, I inherited his old computer.
The company's new president will inherit some complicated legal problems.
When the coach quit, her assistant inherited a last-place team.
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Recent Examples on the Web
After years of being overlooked in terms of taking over -- because of her gender -- daughter Siobhan (Sarah Snook), may turn out to be the Roy sibling who inherits the keys to the kingdom. — oregonlive.com, "‘Succession’ and ‘The Righteous Gemstones’: How to make unlikable characters into great TV (and how not to)," 13 Aug. 2019 That leads to a montage in which Ollie is cut, his locker is cleaned out and he’s replaced by defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks, who inherits his No. — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, "Raiders on ‘Hard Knocks’: Pilot dances around Antonio Brown’s foot issue," 6 Aug. 2019 Size: 1,068 square feet Price per square foot: $1,124 Indoors: The owner, who inherited the property from her family, updated the kitchen and bathroom at some point, but has mostly maintained its vintage character. — Julie Lasky, New York Times, "Looking for a Beach House? It’ll Cost You," 2 Aug. 2019 But the biggest strikes came from left-hander Blaine Hardy, who inherited Zimmermann’s two-on, one out jam in the bottom of the sixth inning. — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers invigorated as Miguel Cabrera homers, Jordan Zimmermann finally wins," 30 July 2019 For example, an 18-year-old with an expected remaining 65 years who inherits $100,000 from Grandma’s IRA would be required to withdraw around 1.5 percent of her account as income this year. — Michael Taylor, ExpressNews.com, "Bill sticks it to aristocracy, helps your retirement savings," 26 July 2019 The consent decree was first proposed in late 2017 by the plaintiffs and Cooper, who had inherited a role as a defendant in the case from his predecessor, Republican Pat McCrory. — NBC News, "Agreement affirms North Carolina transgender restroom rights," 23 July 2019 The fabled father-daughter handoff of The Washington Post from Eugene Meyer to his son-in-law Philip Graham onto Katharine Graham, who inherited full control of the newspaper after her husband's suicide, is now a thing of Hollywood. — Heidi Legg For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Billionaires are saving journalism. Yes, that's right," 9 July 2019 Who has inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life? — Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, "Gloria Vanderbilt told Anderson Cooper not to expect a trust fund. He got the estate instead," 2 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inherit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for inherit
inherit
verb
English Language Learners Definition of inherit
: to receive (money, property, etc.) from someone when that person dies
biology
: to have (a characteristic, disease, etc.) because of the genes that you get from your parents when you are born
: to get (a personal quality, interest, etc.) because of the influence or example of your parents or other relatives
See the full definition for inherit in the English Language Learners Dictionary
inherit
verb
in·her·it
| \ in-ˈher-ət
\
\
inherited;
inheriting
Kids Definition of inherit
1
: to get by legal right from a person at his or her death
2
: to get by heredity
I inherited red hair.
inherit
transitive verb
in·her·it
| \ in-ˈher-ət
\
\
Medical Definition of inherit
: to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission
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inherit
verb
in·her·it
| \ in-ˈher-it
\
\