in·her·it | \ in-ˈher-ət 
, -ˈhe-rət \
, -ˈhe-rət \inherited; inheriting; inherits
Definition of inherit
1a : 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
2 : to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission
inherit a defective enzyme
3 : to have in turn or receive as if from an ancestor
inherited the problem from his predecessor
4 : 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)
: to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from inherit
inheritor \ in-ˈher-ə-tər , -ˈhe-rə- \ noun
, -ˈhe-rə- \ nouninheritress \ in-ˈher-ə-trəs , -ˈhe-rə- \ or inheritrix \ in-ˈher-ə-(ˌ)triks , -ˈhe-rə- \ noun
, -ˈhe-rə- \ or inheritrix \ in-ˈher-ə-(ˌ)triks , -ˈhe-rə- \ nounExamples 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.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web All this infrastructure becomes an endless obligation local taxpayers inherit, regardless of its value or productivity.
—
Charles Marohn For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Building more roads won't help fix America's economy," 2 Oct. 2020 This year Americans—mostly rich ones—will inherit $764 billion but pay an average rate of 2.1% on that money, according to a study by New York University law professor Lily Batchelder.
—
Ben Steverman, Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Taxes Give Biden Blueprint to Fix System Rigged for Rich," 1 Oct. 2020 Ultimately, Chatterjee channelled her fear over the future of the world her child was set to inherit into action.
—
Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, "Should We Be Bringing Children Into Our Dying World?," 26 Sep. 2020 Before pet trusts became available, a person could write in their will that a relative will inherit a pet.
—
Richard Chin, Star Tribune, "A Minnesota law lets you provide for your pets after you've passed away," 22 Sep. 2020 Yvette Gentry, tapped to serve as interim Louisville Metro Police chief starting Oct. 1, will inherit a shrinking department facing extreme scrutiny over the March 13 police shooting of Breonna Taylor.
—
Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "Who is Yvette Gentry? What to know about Louisville's interim police chief," 7 Sep. 2020 Mohammed’s father, Crown Prince Salman, was set to inherit the throne upon Abdullah’s death.
—
Bradley Hope, Wired, "A Saudi Prince's Attempt to Silence Critics on Twitter," 1 Sep. 2020 Suga’s background contrasts starkly with those of the many Japanese politicians who inherit their constituencies from relatives.
—
Isabel Reynolds, Bloomberg.com, "Japan’s Parliament Elects Yoshihide Suga as New Prime Minister," 15 Sep. 2020 And once a noble married, the emphasis on monogamy meant that only legitimate offspring could inherit property.
—
Razib Khan, National Review, "The WEIRDest People in the World," 16 Sep. 2020
See MoreThese 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for inherit
inherit
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of inherit
: 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
See the full definition for inherit in the English Language Learners Dictionary
inherit
verbin·her·it | \ in-ˈher-ət \
\inherited; inheriting
Kids Definition of inherit
1 : to get by legal right from a person at his or her death
2 : to get by heredity
I inherited red hair.
inherit
transitive verbin·her·it | \ in-ˈher-ət \
\Medical Definition of inherit
: to receive from a parent or ancestor by genetic transmission
Keep scrolling for more
inherit
verbin·her·it | \ in-ˈher-it \
\Legal Definition of inherit
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
: to take or hold a possession or rights by inheritance
Other Words from inherit
inheritor \ in-ˈher-i-tər \ noun
\ nounComments on inherit
What made you want to look up inherit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Farm Idioms Quiz
- What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share inherit
Time Traveler for inherit
The first known use of inherit was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century