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
nounRead the Latest from M-W
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
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From the start, there were doubts that arming disorganized, often internally fractious forces would succeed.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Joseph Sobecki has been named to head the commission, succeeding Robert Saar, who retired in December.
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In breaching, the magnificent animal succeeds in throwing a flopping fish on board as well.
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-
Synonym Discussion of succeed
SUCCEED Defined for English Language Learners
succeed
playDefinition of succeed for English Language Learners
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: to do what you are trying to do : to achieve the correct or desired result
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: to happen in the planned or desired way
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: to come after (something) in a series
SUCCEED Defined for Kids
succeed
playDefinition 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
playLegal 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
Learn More about succeed
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for succeed Spanish Central: Translation of succeed Nglish: Translation of succeed for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of succeed for Arabic speakers
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