successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈse-sər 

: one that follows

especially : one who succeeds to a throne, title, estate, or office

Examples of successor in a Sentence

The CEO's successor used to be the vice president here.

the successor to the throne

Recent Examples on the Web

Mitchell was surprised at how well o3 — OpenAI’s newest reasoning model, announced at the end of last year as a successor to o1 — performed on tests. —Sigal Samuel, Vox, 21 Feb. 2025

Expectation in Denmark ramped up, with the country desperate for a successor to former Australian Open champion and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. —Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

Succession Buffett also spent the past year or so settling outstanding litigations and issues on Berkshire’s balance sheet, paving the way for his successor Greg Abel to eventually take over. —Yun Li, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2025

Her successor, Katy Clark, stepped down in 2021 after five years. —Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English successour, from Anglo-French, from Latin successor, from succedere

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for successor

• aggressor
• assessor
• compressor
• confessor
• depressor
• hairdresser
• necessar
• oppressor
• possessor
• processor
• professor
• repressor

Kids Definition

successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈses-ər 

: one that follows

especially : a person who succeeds to a throne, title, estate, or office

Legal Definition

successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈse-sər 

: one that follows : one that succeeds another (as in a position, title, office, or estate)