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

The priorities of their successors go a long way to explaining why that ambition has not been realised. — Sverre Alvik, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

That work is arguably getting harder as chief executives stay in the job longer, causing their possible successors to get restless; some are bolting to jobs elsewhere or retiring themselves. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Yet the abundance of changes that has gone into crafting this successor seemingly justified a name change; from Roma, for the historic Italian capital, to Amalfi, after the famous craggy Italian coastline. — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 7 Aug. 2026

Air Force market research released before the current program indicated the service wanted a successor that matches or exceeds the protection offered by the EEU-2A/P while integrating more effectively with modern helmets and flight equipment. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026

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)