succeed

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verb suc·ceed \sək-ˈsēd\

Definition of succeed

intransitive verb
1a : to come next after another in office or position or in possession of an estate; especially : to inherit sovereignty, rank, or titleb : to follow after another in order
2a : to turn out wellb : 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

succeeder

noun

See succeed defined for English-language learners

See succeed defined for kids

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 of succeed from the Web

From the start, there were doubts that arming disorganized, often internally fractious forces would succeed.

— david e. sanger, eric schmitt and ben hubbard, New York Times, "Trump Ends Covert Aid to Syrian Rebels Trying to Topple Assad," 19 July 2017
As Franklin stumbles his way through his entree into the criminal underworld, Idris projects both brazenness and fear, Franklin’s decency doing battle with his drive to succeed and flourish.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Snowfall Provides Only Fleeting, Forgettable Highs," 5 July 2017
The deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, a former union leader turned businessman who is seeking to succeed Mr Zuma, leads a separate faction that has called for the new charter to be reconsidered.

— The Economist, "South African mining is in crisis," 4 July 2017
And South Sudan has all the ingredients to succeed: an optimistic and youthful population, bountiful oil reserves and billions in foreign aid from the U.S.

— conor gaffey, MSNBC Newsweek, "The Devastating Human Cost of Famine in South Sudan," 4 July 2017
Ms. Martins, the deputy chief of the unit, succeeds Andrew D. Goldstein, who will join Mr. Mueller’s team after having led the public corruption unit for about a year.

— benjamin weiser, New York Times, "Manhattan Prosecutor Joins Inquiry Into Russian Meddling in Election," 30 June 2017
The voters of California’s 34th Congressional District chose Mr. Gomez, a member of the state Assembly, to succeed Xavier Becerra, now the state attorney general.

— kevin mccarthy, WSJ, "Rep.-Elect Jimmy Gomez, Your Seat Is Getting Cold," 29 June 2017
Joseph Sobecki has been named to head the commission, succeeding Robert Saar, who retired in December.

— gary gibula, Naperville Sun, "New director named for DuPage Election Commission," 27 June 2017
In breaching, the magnificent animal succeeds in throwing a flopping fish on board as well.

— sophie weiner, Popular Mechanics, "This Whale Breaching Right Next to a Boat is Like Something Out of 'Jaws'," 25 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of succeed

Middle English succeden, from Anglo-French succeeder, from Latin succedere to go up, follow after, succeed, from sub- near + cedere to go — more at sub-

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of 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

SUCCEED Defined for English Language Learners

succeed

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verb

Definition of succeed for English Language Learners

: 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

SUCCEED Defined for Kids

succeed

play

verb suc·ceed \sək-ˈsēd\

Definition of succeed for Students

succeeded

;

succeeding

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

Law Dictionary

succeed

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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