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

The series revolves around the world’s largest cattle station, named Marianne Station, which is left without a clear successor. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 4 June 2026

The move comes as agentic AI, the successor to generative AI, becomes more attractive to businesses, which see it as a potential replacement for labor costs. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 4 June 2026

Rent the Runway, now controlled by Story3 and Nexus Capital Management, is on the hunt for a permanent successor for Hyman, but is not sitting idle. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 June 2026

Former Navy Secretary John Phelan — ostensibly fired due to insufficient progress on a new US shipbuilding plan — circulated a draft shipbuilding proposal before his ouster, reviewed by Semafor, that appears largely identical to the official version his successor released. —Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 3 June 2026

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)