heir

1 of 2

noun

ˈer How to pronounce heir (audio)
Synonyms of heirnext
1
: one who receives property from an ancestor : one who is entitled to inherit property
was her father's sole heir
2
: one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office
heir to the throne
3
: one who receives or is entitled to receive something other than property from a parent or predecessor
saw himself as the logical heir to the slain dictator
heirless
ˈer-ləs How to pronounce heir (audio)
adjective
heirship
ˈer-ˌship How to pronounce heir (audio)
noun

heir

2 of 2

verb

heired; heiring; heirs

transitive verb

chiefly dialectal
: inherit

Synonyms

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of heir in a Sentence

Noun His heirs could inherit millions of dollars. The king left no heirs when he died.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
However, a source divulged to Mail on Sunday that the future heir and his wife aren’t quite happy about it. —Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 27 Oct. 2025 Prince William, his heir, has been described by royal experts as his right-hand man, taking on more duties. —Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
His father Henri, 70, reigned for 25 years, and Guillaume is likely to reign far longer, since Charles, the older of his two sons (and now heir to the throne) is just five. —Vivienne Walt, Time, 3 Oct. 2025 After watching the 1993 Tom Cruise thriller The Firm, which features the Cayman Islands, Hammer’s father, Michael, heir to a multimillion-dollar oil fortune, relocated his family to the tax haven. —ELLE, 8 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for heir

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English eir, eyre, heir, borrowed from Anglo-French heir, going back to Vulgar Latin *hērem, *hēre, taken as oblique forms (by declension reassignment) of Latin hērēd-, hērēs, from hēr- (probably going back to Indo-European *ǵheh1ro- "abandoned, derelict," whence also Greek chêros "widowed, orphaned, bereaved," chérā "widow") + -ēd-, perhaps a suffixal element

Note: Latin hērēd- has been directly compared with the base of Greek chērōstaí "kinsmen inheriting the property of a person lacking closer relatives" (with the agent suffix -tēs). Opposing the interpretation of *-ēd-/*-ōd- as a suffixal element is an older explanation that sees the etymon as a compound of *ǵheh1ro- and the verbal base *h1ed- "eat"—the whole hence meaning approximately "that which devours what is left behind." (The Greek outcome would then be from *ǵheh1ro-h1d-, with zero grade of the verb.) The adjective *ǵheh1ro- has been taken as a derivative of the verbal base *ǵheh1- "let go, leave behind" (see go entry 1).

Verb

Middle English erren, heyren, derivative of eir, eyre heir entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heir was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing heir

Rhymes for heir

See All Rhymes for heir

Browse Nearby Words

heinous
heir
heir apparency
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heir. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

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Kids Definition

heir

noun
ˈa(ə)r,
ˈe(ə)r
1
: a person who inherits or has the right to inherit property
2
: a person who has legal claim to a title or a throne when the person holding it dies
heirship
-ˌship
noun

Legal Definition

heir

noun
ˈar How to pronounce heir (audio)
: one who inherits or is entitled to succeed to the possession of property after the death of its owner: as
a
: one who by operation of law inherits the property and especially the real property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will
—used in jurisdictions whose law is based on English common law

called also heir at law, heir general, legal heir

compare issue
b
in the civil law of Louisiana : one who succeeds to the estate of a person by will or especially by operation of law see also intestacy, unworthy compare ancestor, devisee, legatee, next of kin, successor
— apparent heir
: heir apparent in this entry
— beneficiary heir
in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who exercises the benefit of inventory which limits the amount of his or her liability for the decedent's debts
— bodily heir
: heir of the body in this entry
— forced heir
: an heir who cannot be disinherited except for causes recognized by law
especially, in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who because of youth or mental or physical infirmity cannot care for himself or herself and who cannot be deprived of his or her lawful portion of the decedent's estate by disinherison without just cause see also legitime
— heir ab intestato \ -​ˌab-​ˌin-​tes-​ˈtā-​tō, -​ˌäb-​ˌin-​tes-​ˈtä-​tō \ plural heirs ab intestato
in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir that takes only by operation of the laws governing intestate succession
— heir apparent plural heirs apparent
: an heir whose right to an inheritance cannot be voided or undone except by exclusion under a valid will if he or she survives the ancestor

called also apparent heir

compare heir presumptive in this entry
— heir at law
: heir sense a
— heir general plural heirs general
: heir sense a
— heir in tail
: an heir to a fee-tail estate

called also heir of entail

— heir of the body
: an heir who is a lineal descendant especially as contrasted with a collateral descendant

called also bodily heir

— heir presumptive plural heirs presumptive
: an heir whose right to inherit may be defeated by the birth of a nearer relative or by exclusion under a valid will

called also presumptive heir

compare heir apparent in this entry
— instituted heir
in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who is named in the will but whose legacy will fall to a substitute legatee under a vulgar substitution in the event that he or she refuses the legacy or dies before the testator

called also instituted legatee

— irregular heir
in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who inherits a right of action to the estate as distinguished from seisin

Note: This class of heirs was eliminated as of January 1, 1982. Formerly, a decedent's illegitimate children and spouse were considered irregular heirs.

— legal heir
: heir sense a
specifically, in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who receives seisin immediately after the death of the intestate by operation of law compare irregular heir in this entry

Note: Prior to 1982 the Louisiana Civil Code distinguished between legal and irregular heirs who were required to go through an additional procedure in order to receive possession of the property. This division of heirs was eliminated in the 1981 revision of the Civil Code.

— natural heir
: an heir (as a child) whose status as an heir arises from especially close blood relationship as distinguished from one (as the state) whose status arises by operation of statute
— presumptive heir
: heir presumptive in this entry
— pretermitted heir
: a descendant of a testator who would be an heir under the laws of intestacy but who is not named to take under the will

Note: Most states have statutes requiring a share of the estate to go to a pretermitted heir, especially one born after the execution of the will, on the assumption that the omission was unintentional.

— right heir
: an heir by blood
: the particular heir granted or devised an estate tail as distinguished from the heirs in general
— testamentary heir
in the civil law of Louisiana : an heir who inherits under a will
heirless adjective
heirship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on heir

Nglish: Translation of heir for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about heir

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