successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈse-sər 

: one that follows

especially : one who succeeds to a throne, title, estate, or office

Examples of successor in a Sentence

The CEO's successor used to be the vice president here.

the successor to the throne

Recent Examples on the Web

All decisions were made under Amazon MGM Studios’ outgoing Head of Global TV Vernon Sanders; the last three were finalized after Peter Friedlander had been announced as his successor. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025

The second season feels very much a worthy successor to the first season. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025

His unwillingness to name a successor is fueling fears of impending political chaos, World Politics Review said, and arguably holding back progress in the country. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 10 Oct. 2025

After two seasons as the Miami Marlins manager, Skip Schumaker took a gap year before being named Bruce Bochy’s successor in Texas. —Katie Woo, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English successour, from Anglo-French, from Latin successor, from succedere

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for successor

• aggressor
• assessor
• compressor
• confessor
• depressor
• hairdresser
• necessar
• oppressor
• possessor
• processor
• professor
• repressor

Kids Definition

successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈses-ər 

: one that follows

especially : a person who succeeds to a throne, title, estate, or office

Legal Definition

successor

noun

suc·​ces·​sor sək-ˈse-sər 

: one that follows : one that succeeds another (as in a position, title, office, or estate)