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Glite Dictionary
successor

successor

146 3.7
A person or thing that takes over a job after someone else
  • noun
  • /səkˈsɛsər/
translation icon : sucesor
  • After years of service, the mayor prepared to hand over the position to her chosen successor.
  • name a successor
  • likely successor
  • designated successor

And I look to her as a successor to this president.

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Examples

  • We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall.

  • And then Putin will leave the stage and allow the successor to take over.

    Lex Fridman

  • And I look to her as a successor to this president.

    Megyn Kelly

  • And this is sort of the modern day successor to that car.

    Doug DeMuro

  • The young king saw himself as the successor to Frederick the Great.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The governor will appoint a successor who'll serve until the next regular election.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • William's formal appointment as secretary also designated Thomas as his successor should his father become incapacitated.

    Academic text (2008)

  • They were looking for a successor for J. Edgar Hoover.

    All the President's Men (1976)

  • We thought he was a worthy successor to the military heroes who've borne our name.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • At today's press conference, the world will be introduced for the first time to his successor, Natalie Bevin.

    Global Heresy (2002)

Synonyms

replacement
vssuccessor
282 2.0

A person or thing that takes the place of another

is specific to taking over jobs, positions, or roles not to physical substitutions
replacer
vssuccessor
1 4.0

A person or thing that takes the place of another

is used mainly for taking over roles or positions rather than simple swaps
tanist
vssuccessor
  • Archaic
9.9

A person chosen to be the next leader, often the heir to a chief or king in old Ireland

is used for any person or thing that takes over a role, not only officials

How Certain

heir apparent
  • Formal
14 5.9
successor
146 3.7
candidate
564 2.3

Surface Forms

successor singular
successors plural

Morphology

successor = succeed (transparent) = succeed + or

Formed from the verb 'succeed' + agentive suffix '-or'; the meaning 'one who takes over' is directly predictable from the base, though learners might sometimes confuse it with 'success'.

Etymology

Successor comes from the old Latin word succedere, which means 'to go after' or 'follow', and it shares the same root as the English word succeed. So a successor is literally someone who 'goes after' another person in a job or role.