heiress

noun

heir·​ess ˈer-əs How to pronounce heiress (audio)
: a woman who is an heir especially to great wealth

Examples of heiress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Texas is also home to the richest woman in America, Walmart heiress Alice Walton ($106 billion). Ella Malmgren, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 The Row has earned industry acclaim, and backing from Chanel owners the Wertheimers as well as L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, positioning them firmly among elite American designers. Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025 Frankel's book posits that Short and Leila Walsh, a Kansas City heiress who was murdered in 1941, were killed by the same man. Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2025 Set during the Great Depression, a Milwaukee detective’s quest to find a Wisconsin cheese heiress lands him in Hungary and on a collision course with history to meet Nazis, spies, and swing musicians in the octogenarian literary giant’s first novel in over a decade. Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for heiress

Word History

Etymology

heir entry 1 + -ess

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heiress was in 1607

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heiress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heiress. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

heiress

noun
heir·​ess ˈar-əs How to pronounce heiress (audio)
ˈer-
: a girl or woman who is an heir

More from Merriam-Webster on heiress

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