inherit

verb in·her·it \ in-ˈher-ət , -ˈhe-rət \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: inherit in a Sentence

Definition of inherit

inherited; inheriting; inherits

transitive verb

1 : to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion

and every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters … for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life
—Matthew 19:29 (Revised Standard Version)

2 a : to receive from an ancestor as a right or title descendible by law at the ancestor's death

b : to receive as a devise or legacy

3 : to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission

inherit a defective enzyme

4 : to have in turn or receive as if from an ancestor

inherited the problem from his predecessor

intransitive verb

: to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance

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inheritor

play \in-ˈher-ə-tər, -ˈhe-rə-\ noun

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inheritress

play \in-ˈher-ə-trəs, -ˈhe-rə-\ or inheritrix play \in-ˈher-ə-(ˌ)triks, -ˈhe-rə-\ noun

See inherit defined for English-language learners

See inherit defined for kids

Examples of inherit in a Sentence

She inherited the family business from her father.
Baldness is inherited from the mother's side of the family.
She inherited her father's deep blue eyes.
She inherited a love of baseball from her dad.
When my brother left for college, I inherited his old computer.
The company's new president will inherit some complicated legal problems.
When the coach quit, her assistant inherited a last-place team.

Recent Examples of inherit from the Web

Children inherit mitochondria only from their mothers; replacing faulty mitochondria in an egg or embryo with normal ones from a donor can result in healthy babies.

— sandy ong, Science | AAAS, "Singapore could become the second country to legalize mitochondrial replacement therapy," 6 June 2018
Otherwise, [Mary] would have just been inheriting Flea’s bar.

— kara baskin, BostonGlobe.com, "Keeping the spirit alive at Somerville’s Spoke Wine Bar," 5 June 2018
The Carlyle duo, both alumni of Harvard Business School and McKinsey & Co., inherited at the start of this year more than $200 billion of assets under management and flagship buyout funds that are among the industry leaders.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Trump's trade war makes enemies out of longtime U.S. allies," 4 June 2018
In many such cases, storm victims were informally given property by a relative or inherited without a will or deed.

— ramon espinosa, Fox News, "As storm season starts, AP photographer revisits Puerto Rico," 1 June 2018
Within a cell, a mitochondrion will sometimes split in two, and the daughter mitochondria inherit copies of its DNA, just as their free‐living ancestors did nearly 2 billion years ago.

— carl zimmer, STAT, "Shot through with microbes: How our bodies adapt to a hidden world of bacteria," 30 May 2018
Is an individual person’s level of curiosity inherited?

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Ahead of book talk, Baltimore Symphony science adviser explains the psychology of curiosity," 26 May 2018
Mallory came to Indiana from Northern Illinois in 1984, inheriting a program that had finished 3-8 in the previous season under Sam Wyche.

— zach osterman, Indianapolis Star, "Son: Former IU football coach Bill Mallory in hospice care after fall," 24 May 2018
That means Pippa will eventually inherit a courtesy title too: Lady of Glen Affric.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Who Are Pippa Middleton and James Matthews?," 19 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of inherit

Middle English enheriten "to give (a person) right of inheritance, make (a person) heir, come into possession of as an heir," borrowed from Anglo-French enheriter, going back to Late Latin inhērēditāre "to appoint as heir," from Latin in- ²in- + Late Latin hērēditāre "to leave as an inheritance, inherit, make an heir" — more at heritage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

INHERIT Defined for English Language Learners

inherit

verb

Definition of inherit for English Language Learners

: to receive (money, property, etc.) from someone when that person dies
biology : to have (a characteristic, disease, etc.) because of the genes that you get from your parents when you are born
: to get (a personal quality, interest, etc.) because of the influence or example of your parents or other relatives

INHERIT Defined for Kids

inherit

verb in·her·it \ in-ˈher-ət \

Definition of inherit for Students

inherited; inheriting

1 : to get by legal right from a person at his or her death

2 : to get by heredity

I inherited red hair.

Medical Dictionary

inherit

transitive verb in·her·it \ in-ˈher-ət \

medical Definition of inherit

: to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission

Law Dictionary

inherit

verb in·her·it \ in-ˈher-it \

legal Definition of inherit

transitive verb

1 : to receive (property) from an estate by operation of the laws of intestacy; broadly : to receive (property) either by will or through intestate succession

2 : succeed

intransitive verb

: to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance

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