heir

/ˈɜː/UK/ˈɛə̯/

heir noun: someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.

Noun

heir (plural heirs)

Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.
- My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it.
- I am my father's heir and only son.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Synonyms:

beneficiary, inheritor
One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office.
- As the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales is a very public figure.
- Now, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, William, 40, is the Prince of Wales and the heir to the British throne.2022 September 16, Megan Specia, “Prince William Moves Into the Spotlight as Heir to the Throne”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
Synonyms:

inheritor
A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor.
- And I his heir in misery alone.1725, Homer, “Book I”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC
- "I wish we were back in Tenth Street. But so many children came[…]and the Tenth Street house wasn't half big enough; and a dreadful speculative builder built this house and persuaded Austin to buy it. Oh, dear, and here we are among the rich and great; and the steel kings and copper kings and oil...1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
Synonyms:

aftercomer, succeeder, successor, successour

Verb

heir (third-person singular simple present heirs, present participle heiring, simple past and past participle heired)

(ambitransitive) To inherit.
- […] Leonard Houtz & John Myer to be executors to this my last will & testament & lastly my children shall heir equally, one as much as the other.1950, quoted in Our Garst family in America (page 27)

heir meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

heir in Hindi

one who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another: उत्तराधिकारी uttarādhikārī
one who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office: उत्तराधिकारी uttarādhikārī
successor in a role: उत्तराधिकारी uttarādhikārī

heir in Tamil

heir: வாரிசு vāricu

heir in Marathi

heir, successor, inheritor: उत्तराधिकारी uttarādhikārī
heir, successor: वारस vāras

heir in Urdu

one who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another: وارث vāris

More languagesFewer languages

heir in Bengali: ওয়ারিস ōẇariś, অংশভাক oṅśobhak
heir in Telugu: వారసుడు
heir in Malayalam: അവകാശി
heir in Kannada: ಹಕ್ಕುದಾರ, ಬಾಧ್ಯಸ್ಥ, ಉತ್ತರಾಧಿಕಾರಿ, ವಾರಸುದಾರ
heir in Punjabi: ਵਾਰਸ vāras
heir in Gujarati: વારસ vāras
heir in Odia: ଉତ୍ତରାଧିକାରୀ
heir in Sanskrit: उत्तराधिकारिन् uttarādhikārin, उत्तराधिकारिणी uttarādhikāriṇī
heir in Pashto: وارث wāres
heir in Tagalog: tagapagmana
heir in Arabic: وَارِث wāriṯ, وَارِثَة wāriṯa, وَرِيث warīṯ
heir in Malay: pewaris, waris
heir in Indonesian: pewaris
heir in Persian: وارث vâres
heir in Thai: ทายาท taa-yâat, รัชทายาท rát-chá-taa-yâat, ผู้สืบทอด
heir in Vietnamese: người thừa kế

Examples of heir in a sentence

In ancient Greece, the Spartans developed rules that consolidated property into a narrow class of heirs, while the growing population of people left behind were reclassified as hypomeiones—inferiors.2023 January 16, Evan Osnos, “The Getty Family’s Trust Issues”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC...
Vittorio Emanuele, the Italian throne's last heir, was apprehended in 1978 after a teen died from a gunshot on an exclusive island.2023 July 4, Lucy Mangan, “The King Who Never Was review – the gripping tale of the first royal to be arrested 'since Marie Antoinette'”...
Oh, dear, and here we are among the rich and great; and the steel kings and copper kings and oil kings and their heirs and dauphins.[…]"1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
India is run by gerontocrats and epigones: grey hairs and groomed heirs.2013 May 11, “What a waste”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...

All 40 example sentences with heir

Synonyms of heir

All synonyms of heir

Forms of heir

Noun
plural	heirs
alternative form (obsolete)	heire
Verb
third-person singular present	heirs
present participle	heiring
past participle	heired
past	heired

Plural of heir: heirs

Origin of heir

From Middle English heir, from Anglo-Norman eir, heir, from Latin hērēs.

Words formed from heir

Phrases with heir

Words that rhyme with heir

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about heir

What does heir mean?: Heir means someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.
What is heir in Hindi?: Heir in Hindi is उत्तराधिकारी (uttarādhikārī). See Heir meaning in Hindi.
How do you use heir in a sentence?: In ancient Greece, the Spartans developed rules that consolidated property into a narrow class of heirs, while the growing population of people left behind were reclassified as hypomeiones—inferiors.
What part of speech is heir?: Heir can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce heir?: Heir is pronounced /ˈɛə̯/ (UK).
What is the plural of heir?: The plural of heir is heirs.

Words near heir in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-heir.ogg.

Cite this entry: “heir.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/heir. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.