heir

noun

ˈer How to pronounce heir (audio)
Definition of heirnext
as in inheritor
a person who has the right to inherit property upon his death, Mr. Parkworth's property was divided evenly among his heirs, four sons and three daughters

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heir His wife became Queen Mette-Marit, while his oldest child became Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and the heir to the throne. — Jan M. Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 His granddaughter Ingrid Alexandra now becomes heir to the Norwegian throne. — James Frater, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026 The announcement included the update that the King’s wife, Queen Sonja, and his son and heir, Crown Prince Haakon, have cancelled all of their upcoming royal engagements to be by his bedside. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026 Once owned by an heir to the Getty oil fortune, a full-floor penthouse atop San Francisco’s Russian Hill with wraparound terraces and views stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to the downtown skyline is on the market for nearly $20 million. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heir
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heir
  1. inheritor
  2. legatee
  3. heiress
  4. descendant
Noun
  • The hope behind the request was that the proud inheritor of the Byzantine empire could escape its associations with a pretty derpy American bird.
    — Drew Goins, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
  • Another challenge that may result is leaving large tax liabilities for future generations, particularly if the inheritors receive such funds during their peak earning years.
    — Monish Verma, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of inheritor
Noun
  • The old immigrants are likely to remain—in the manner of the occasional Wasp legatee (Wagner, Lindsay) who poked in during the buoyant sixties—more visitors to wars over civic power than victors in them.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Trump and allies, meanwhile, often cast him as legatee of Reagan.
    — David Jackson, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2024
Definition of legatee
Noun
  • When Phoebe Hunt, a documentarian for Tempus Tours, discovers that a real estate heiress who didn’t return from a journey is actually a suspicious woman from Phoebe’s past, Phoebe races to stop history from being rewritten.
    — Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The heiress was photographed with her stepmother and father at the Gucci fashion show in February 2013.
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of heiress
Noun
  • That’s significant because Ross is a descendant of John Ross (also July), the famed leader of the Cherokee Nation in 1835 who vehemently was against the Ridges’ position to leave their homeland.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026
  • At the center was Tatunca Nara, who claimed to be its descendant and guide, but later became linked to the disappearance and deaths of several explorers.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of descendant

Phrases Containing heir

Browse Nearby Words

heinousness
heir
heir apparent
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Cite this Entry

“Heir.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heir. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on heir

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about heir

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