succeed

verb

suc·ceed | \ sək-ˈsēd

succeeded; succeeding; succeeds

Definition of succeed

1a : to come next after another in office or position or in possession of an estate especially : to inherit sovereignty, rank, or title

b : to follow after another in order

2a : to turn out well

b : to attain a desired object or end students who succeed in college

3 obsolete : to pass to a person by inheritance

transitive verb

1 : to follow in sequence and especially immediately

2 : to come after as heir or successor

Other Words from succeed Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Example Sentences Learn More about succeed

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Choose the Right Synonym for succeed

follow, succeed, ensue, supervene mean to come after something or someone. follow may apply to a coming after in time, position, or logical sequence. speeches followed the dinner succeed implies a coming after immediately in a sequence determined by natural order, inheritance, election, or laws of rank. she succeeded her father as head of the business ensue commonly suggests a logical consequence or naturally expected development. after the talk a general discussion ensued supervene suggests the following or beginning of something unforeseen or unpredictable. unable to continue because of supervening circumstances

Examples of succeed in a Sentence

Ghosh's remarkable detective work succeeds in rescuing an entire group of marginalized figures from British and South Asian amnesia, if not outright denial. — Maya Jasanoff, New York Review of Books, 18 Dec. 2008 Enter Gordon Brown. Journalistic legend has it that, over dinner in a trendy London restaurant as long ago as 1994, the two of them settled that Blair would lead the Labour party for an unspecified length of time and Brown would then succeed him. — David Pryce-Jones, National Review, 28 May 2007 Maguire, a freelance writer who specializes in culture and technology and recently published a book about spelling bees, paints a vivid portrait of Sullivan as a tough-minded micromanager who tightly controlled every aspect of his show, even telling Ella Fitzgerald what to sing. Behind the avuncular, slightly befuddled façade viewers knew, he writes, was a man consumed by ambition and driven to succeed at any cost. — Peter Keepnews, New York Times Book Review, 11 June 2006 You can succeed where others failed. The plan just might succeed. Their attempt seemed unlikely to succeed. Both of them have ambitions to succeed the prime minister. She will succeed him as chair of the committee. The Queen died and was succeeded by James I. James I succeeded to the throne upon the Queen's death in 1603.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Putin comes into this meeting having already succeeded, right? — NBC News, "Meet the Press - July 8, 2018," 8 July 2018 Geoffrey had been the mascot for Toys R Us since 1969, succeeding Dr. G Raffe in the position, according to Behind The Thrills. — Don Sweeney, sacbee, "Can an unemployed Toys R Us mascot save real giraffes? A Texas zoo wants to find out," 2 July 2018 And despite changing the rules to allow for more severe penalties and fines for flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits, the NFL has not succeeded so far in preventing concussions. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "What a lifetime of playing football can do to the human brain," 4 Feb. 2019 Stimulus is likely to succeed eventually, but Beijing’s annual growth target is still in danger of being lowered to 6% from 6.5% in the coming months. — Jon Sindreu, WSJ, "Investors’ Best Option: Keep Faith in U.S. Stocks," 21 Jan. 2019 Some examples: In Florida, organizers succeeded in passing the largest expansion of voting rights in a decade, restoring the right to vote to 1.5 million people with felony convictions. — Bree Newsome, SELF, "The 2018 Midterm Elections Proved That Change Must Happen from the Ground Up," 15 Nov. 2018 Years earlier, in 2010, a Qantas Airbus A380, the world’s largest plane, suffered an uncontained engine failure after taking off from Singapore for Australia; pilots succeeded in landing the crippled plane safely back at Changi. — Barbara Peterson, Condé Nast Traveler, "How Often Do New Airplanes Have Problems?," 2 Nov. 2018 The cancellation came after a top North Korean official sent a secret letter to Pompeo that convinced both him and Trump the visit was not likely to succeed. — Josh Rogin, The Seattle Times, "Why Trump canceled Secretary of State Pompeo’s trip to North Korea," 28 Aug. 2018 On Monday, the state Supreme Court had refused to block Irick’s execution, saying the lawsuit filed by inmates involving the execution drugs wasn’t likely to succeed. — Fox News, "Tennessee executes its first inmate in nearly a decade," 9 Aug. 2018

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

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Last Updated

15 Apr 2019

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The first known use of succeed was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for succeed

succeed

verb

English Language Learners Definition of succeed

: to do what you are trying to do : to achieve the correct or desired result

: to happen in the planned or desired way

: to come after (something) in a series

See the full definition for succeed in the English Language Learners Dictionary

succeed

verb

suc·ceed | \ sək-ˈsēd

succeeded; succeeding

Kids Definition of succeed

1 : to achieve a desired result : be successful Half of them wanted me to mess up, and half of them wanted me to succeed.— Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Loses Control

2 : to turn out well The plan succeeded.

3 : to come after : follow This new model of car succeeds the old one.

4 : to come next after another person in office or position

succeed

intransitive verb

suc·ceed | \ sək-ˈsēd

Legal Definition of succeed

1 : to come next after another in office or position

2a : to take something by succession succeeded to his mother's estate

b : to acquire the rights, obligations, and charges of a decedent in property comprising an estate the heir, who accepts, is considered as having succeeded to the deceased from the moment of his death — Louisiana Civil Code

transitive verb

1 : to follow in sequence and especially immediately

2 : to come after as heir or successor