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

Its core provision is succeeding: the vast majority of the former guerrillas have returned to civilian life. — The Economist, "Can Colombia’s President Iván Duque find his feet?," 22 June 2019 In 2013, President Obama nominated James Comey, a Bush-era Justice official, to head the FBI, succeeding Robert Mueller. — BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 21 June 2019 To make matters worse, occupation authorities advance the Israeli sector to the detriment of Palestinian companies that are succeeding. — Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, "Why Jared Kushner’s Bahrain Conference Won’t Do Much for the Palestinian Economy," 19 June 2019 The reparations movement remained on life support until 1922 when the federal government finally succeed to shut it down. — Arica L. Coleman, Time, "The House Hearing on Slavery Reparations Is Part of a Long History. Here's What to Know on the Idea's Tireless Early Advocates," 18 June 2019 Ultimately it’s consumers who will determine whether Facebook’s grand gambit will succeed or fail, with the most important test of Libra likely being convenience. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "Facebook Announces Project Libra, Its Wildly Ambitious Plan to Bring Cryptocurrency to the Masses," 18 June 2019 Continuity is the byword at Treadway Elementary, where Assistant Principal Vanessa King will succeed the departing Christidis as Treadway principal. — Jerry Fallstrom, orlandosentinel.com, "Lake County principal of the year part of summertime administrative shuffle," 18 June 2019 Investigators have reported that Russian intelligence tried to gain access to American voting systems before the 2016 election, and in some cases succeeded. — Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, "Kremlin Warns of Cyberwar After Report of U.S. Hacking Into Russian Power Grid," 17 June 2019 Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha Hong Kong’s protests over the past week succeeded in getting its government to change course on a reviled extradition bill, which would have allowed suspects to be dispatched to the mainland to face trial. — Tripti Lahiri, Quartz, "Photos: What Hong Kong’s hundreds of thousands of protesters want now," 16 June 2019

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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24 Jun 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