Entry Word: succumb

Function: verb

Meaning: 1 to cease resistance (as to another's arguments, demands, or control) <Mom finally succumbed and let us go to the movies> — see yield 3
2 to give up and cease resistance (as to a liking, temptation, or habit) <refused to succumb to her fears and defiantly walked through the dark cemetery> — see yield 1
3 to stop living <the patient lay so still and pale that everyone thought he had succumbed, and then he opened his eyes> — see die 1
4 to yield to the control or power of enemy forces <the doctor worked tirelessly until finally he, too, succumbed to the fever> — see fall 2