bequeath

verb

be·queath | \ bi-ˈkwēth

, -ˈkwēt͟h, bē-

bequeathed; bequeathing; bequeaths

Definition of bequeath

1 : to give or leave by will (see will entry 2 sense 1) —used especially of personal property a ring bequeathed to her by her grandmother

2 : to hand down : transmit lessons bequeathed to future generations

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Examples of bequeath in a Sentence

He bequeathed his paintings to the museum. Lessons of the past are bequeathed to future generations.

Recent Examples on the Web

This empress in miniature has already bequeathed her moniker to the seven-carat Star of Josephine, and just earlier this week to the $28 million pink, now known as Sweet Josephine. — Stellene Volandes, Town & Country, "Hong Kong Billionaire Pays $48.5 Million for Blue Diamond," 12 Nov. 2015 Both of these villas were seen by their owners as celebrations of French aesthetic grandeur, and both were ultimately bequeathed to the French state: Villa Kerylos in 1928, Villa Ile-de-France in 1934. — James Mcauley, Town & Country, "The Tragic, Fascinating History of Santo Sospir," 13 Aug. 2018 Reverse mortgages, whether the traditional HECM or jumbo products, aren’t right for everyone, such as homeowners who would like to bequeath their property to heirs. — Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, "Senior Homeowners Give Reverse Jumbo Mortgages New Life," 12 Dec. 2018 The family says the artist had given the painting to his sister Marie, who bequeathed it to her nephew, Philippe’s grandfather. — New York Times, "French and Swiss Museums to Share a Cézanne With a Murky Past," 3 July 2018 Upon his death in 1944, Vanderbilt bequeathed the 43-acre waterfront museum complex, which today houses of 30,000 specimens, to Suffolk County. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "Two Kids Explore the Vanderbilt Estate in This New Maisonette Video," 26 Nov. 2018 There are four, each bequeathing Fury a different fighting style. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Total War: Warhammer II adds undead pirates, Amazon's MMO leaks on Pornhub," 5 Oct. 2018 Nantwich bequeaths to Will his personal history, a chronicle of his erotic life from boarding school to his years as a colonial administrator in Africa. — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, "A Novel of Sex and Secrecy," 10 Oct. 2011 Their place in the standings ahead of Seattle has been earned, not bequeathed because of the Mariners’ uneven play. — Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times, "Mariners rally late, but A’s had already built too big of a lead to win 7-6," 13 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bequeath.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.