- 1[transitive, intransitive] inherit (something) (from somebody) to receive money, property, etc. from somebody when they die She inherited a fortune from her father. He will inherit the title on the death of his uncle. compare disinherit Wordfinderrelationancestor, branch, descent, dynasty, family tree, genealogy, generation, inherit, relation, trace Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + inheritstand to prepositionfrom phrasesbe genetically inherited See full entry
- 2[transitive] inherit something (from somebody) to have qualities, physical features, etc. that are similar to those of your parents, grandparents, etc. He has inherited his mother's patience. She inherited a passion for music from her grandfather. an inherited disease Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + inheritstand to prepositionfrom phrasesbe genetically inherited See full entry See related entries: Family background
- 3[transitive] inherit something (from somebody) if you inherit a particular situation from somebody, you are now responsible for dealing with it, especially because you have replaced that person in their job policies inherited from the previous administration I inherited a number of problems from my predecessor. Word OriginMiddle English enherite ‘receive as a right’, from Old French enheriter, from late Latin inhereditare ‘appoint as heir’, from Latin in- ‘in’ + heres, hered- ‘heir’.Extra examples He stood to inherit= was likely to inherit property worth over five million. How many of these traits are genetically inherited? She inherited some money from her mother. Does he know that she stands to inherit? I inherited a number of problems from my predecessor in the post. Is this an inherited disease?
inherit
verbBrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪt//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they inherit BrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪt//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪt//
he / she / it inherits BrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪts//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪts//
past simple inherited BrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪtɪd//
past participle inherited BrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪtɪd//
-ing form inheriting BrE BrE//ɪnˈherɪtɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ɪnˈherɪtɪŋ//
Family backgroundCheck pronunciation: inherit
