- 1 [intransitive] to achieve something that you have been trying to do or get; to have the result or effect that was intended Our plan succeeded. succeed in doing something He succeeded in getting a place at art school. I tried to discuss it with her but only succeeded in making her angry (= I failed and did the opposite of what I intended). see also success Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbadmirably, beautifully, brilliantly, … verb + succeedbe likely to, be unlikely to, be determined to, … prepositionagainst, at, in, … See full entry
- 2 [intransitive] to be successful in your job, earning money, power, respect, etc. You will have to work hard if you are to succeed. succeed in something She doesn't have the ruthlessness required to succeed in business. succeed as something He had hoped to succeed as a violinist. see also success Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbadmirably, beautifully, brilliantly, … verb + succeedbe likely to, be unlikely to, be determined to, … prepositionagainst, at, in, … See full entry
- 3[transitive] succeed somebody/something to come next after somebody/something and take their/its place or position synonym follow Who succeeded Kennedy as President? Their early success was succeeded by a period of miserable failure. Strands of DNA are reproduced through succeeding generations. see also succession Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + succeedappoint somebody to, elect somebody to, be tipped to, … prepositionas, to See full entry
- 4[intransitive] succeed (to something) to gain the right to a title, property, etc. when somebody dies She succeeded to the throne (= became queen) in 1558. He had no right to succeed to the tenancy when his father died. see also succession Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + succeedappoint somebody to, elect somebody to, be tipped to, … prepositionas, to See full entry Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French succeder or Latin succedere ‘come close after’, from sub- ‘close to’ + cedere ‘go’.Extra examples He was appointed to succeed Sir Georg Solti as head of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed to succeed Solti as head of the orchestra. He was expected to succeed Jack Smith as CEO when he retired. He was widely tipped to succeed William Hague as leader of the party. No company can hope to succeed at everything. She can teach you how to succeed at tennis. She has succeeded in a difficult career. She succeeded to the throne in 1558. The appeal is unlikely to succeed. The book succeeds beautifully in presenting the problem before us. The plan succeeded pretty well. They very nearly succeeded in blowing up the building. This option has rarely succeeded in recent years. We feel that we have largely succeeded in our aims. We succeeded in repairing the engine. hints on how to succeed with interior design the pressure on children to succeed academically to succeed against serious opposition I tried to discuss it with her but only succeeded in making her angry. She doesn’t have the ruthlessness to succeed in business. The engineering career structure worked against women succeeding. They are being given the confidence and motivation to succeed academically. We are looking for individuals with a determination to succeed.Idioms
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BrE BrE//səkˈsiːd//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːd//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they succeed BrE BrE//səkˈsiːd//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːd//
he / she / it succeeds BrE BrE//səkˈsiːdz//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːdz//
past simple succeeded BrE BrE//səkˈsiːdɪd//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːdɪd//
past participle succeeded BrE BrE//səkˈsiːdɪd//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːdɪd//
-ing form succeeding BrE BrE//səkˈsiːdɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//səkˈsiːdɪŋ//
(saying) when you are successful in one area of your life, it often leads to success in other areas
Check pronunciation: succeed
