to succeed
129
4.4
- verb
- /səkˈsiːd/
- Formal
:
suceder a
- School Executive Vice President Polly Peterson will succeed current President Robert Badal when he retires next February.
- succeed the president
- succeed one's father
- succeed as head
And his predecessor says, a con man is succeeding me in Congress.
- And his predecessor says, a con man is succeeding me in Congress.
- On the question of who could succeed Joe Biden, this is Biden's greatest strength.
Examples
-
Alexander the Third was succeeded by his son Nicholas the Second.
-
Four years later, Darius died and was succeeded by his son Xerxes.
-
Clearly, he said, it is not all that hard to succeed to a university presidency.
-
Only five men have succeeded to date.
-
In 1983, after Henry King succeeded to the Institute, he introduced something different: an annual conference.
Academic text (1999) -
The college announced Monday that Woo will succeed Phillip C. Stone, who is set to retire after this academic year.
Academic text (2017) -
And fortune was on his side because he had two sons to succeed him, Titus and Domitian.
-
A year later, Princeton called him home to succeed Russell as head of the Princeton Observatory.
Academic text (1990) -
When Muhammad died in 632, he was succeeded by the first of four "rightly guided" caliphs.
Academic text (2008) -
At midnight in Japan, Crown Prince Naruhito succeeded his father and became the new emperor.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To come after something in time or order
222
3.8
Gain control of a company, organization, or government
87
3.6
Begin work in an official job after being elected or appointed
49
3.6
To become the next person in a job or position
1
8.4
To take an official position such as a throne or presidency
1
7.4
To take on responsibility as the next leader
Start managing something after the previous person leaves
To become king or queen of a country and rule
Antonyms
How Acquired
Surface Forms
Morphology
succeed = successor (semi-transparent) = suc + ceed
The sense 'to take over or come after' aligns with words like 'successor'/'succession', so learners familiar with those words can infer the meaning, but the morphemic pieces are historically irregular rather than productive modern affixes.
Etymology
Succeed comes from the parts sub- 'under' and cedere 'to go', and it once meant 'to go after' or 'take the place of' someone. So, to succeed someone is to follow them in a job or title.