succeed
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succeed¹
- /səkˈsiːd/
Rhymes with -iːd
Where it comes from
From Old French succeder, from Latin succedere (“to go under, go from under, come under, approach, follow, take the place of, receive by succession, prosper, be successful”).
Partly displaced English speed, of which the original sense “to succeed” only survives in a few fossilized expressions such as Godspeed.
verb succeeds · succeeding · succeeded · succede
- To follow something in sequence or time. Autumn succeeds summer.
-
To replace or supplant someone in order vis-à-vis an office, position, or title.
The king's eldest son succeeds his father on the throne.
Similar: take the place of, come after
- To come after or follow; to be subsequent or consequent; (often with to). Her arms were like legs of mutton, her breasts like giant cabbages; her face, broad and fleshy, gave you an impression of almost indecent nakedness, and vast chin succeeded to vast chin.
-
To come in the place of another person, thing, or event; to come next in the usual, natural, or prescribed course of things; to follow; hence, to come next in the possession of anything; (often with to).
Following the death of his mother, he succeeded to the throne.
Similar: supersede
-
To ascend the throne after the removal or death of the occupant.
Princess Buttercup succeeded to the throne as queen after King Willoughby died.
Similar: supersede
- To prevail in obtaining an intended objective or accomplishment; to prosper as a result or conclusion of a particular effort. The persecution of any righteous practice has never succeeded in the face of history; in fact, it can expedite the collapse of the persecutory regime.
- To prosper or attain success and beneficial results in general. voted most likely to succeed
- To turn out, fare, do (well or ill). In some parts of Germany it is commonly believed that whatever is undertaken when the moon is on the increase succeeds well [...] whereas business undertaken in the wane of the moon is doomed to failure.
-
To support; to prosper; to promote or give success to.
Succeed my wish and second my design.
Similar: do well
- To descend, as an estate or an heirloom, in the same family; to devolve; (often with to). A paterfamilias could arrange a marriage or emancipate a child without its mother's consent, and if the mother died intestate (possibly because her tutor refused to approve her will) her estate succeeded to her siblings, not to her husband or children, […]
- To fall heir to; to inherit. Else let my brother die, / If not a feodary, but only he / Owe and succeed thy weakness.
- To go down or near (with to). Who, ever as he saw him nigh succeed, / Gan cry aloud with horrible affright, […]
Similar: flourish, ensue, follow, follow on, succeed · Opposite: precede, fail, fall on one's face
succeed²
- /səkˈsiːd/
Rhymes with -iːd
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: follow, come after, come through, succession, result, effective, successor, happen, come, accomplish, complete, make, bring, perform, arrive, successful
Translations
Every language
verb To follow in order; to come next after; hence, to take the place of
| Español | suceder, sucesionar, ser el sucesor de, seguirle en la sucesión a, subseguir |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 継ぐ tsugu, 継承する keishō suru |
| 中文 | 繼 /继 jì |
| Português | seguir |
| Français | succéder |
| Deutsch | nachfolgen |
| Italiano | succedere |
| Ελληνικά | διαδέχομαι diadéchomai, ακολουθώ akolouthó |
| Română | succeda, succede |
verb To come in the place of another person, thing, or event; to come next in the usual, natural, or prescribed course of things
| Español | suceder |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 続く tsuzuku, 継承する keishō suru |
| Русский | наследовать nasledovatʹ, сменять smenjatʹ |
verb To come after; to be subsequent or consequent to; to follow; to pursue
| 日本語 | 継ぐ tsugu, 継承する keishō suru |
|---|---|
| Português | seguir |
| Română | succede, succeda |
| Русский | следовать sledovatʹ, наследовать nasledovatʹ, идти за idti za |
verb Specifically: To ascend the throne after the removal the death of the occupant
| Español | suceder |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 繼位 /继位 jìwèi |
| Română | succeda |
| Русский | наследовать nasledovatʹ, сменять smenjatʹ |
verb to obtain the object desired; to accomplish what is attempted or intended; to have a prosperous issue or termination; to be successful
| Español | tener éxito, suceder, atinar, arrasar, anotarse un poroto, petar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 성공하다 seonggonghada |
| 日本語 | 成功する seikō-suru |
| 中文 | 成功 chénggōng |
| Kiswahili | fanikiwa |
| Português | ter/obter sucesso/êxito, conseguir |
| Français | réussir, avoir du succès |
| Deutsch | erfolgreich sein, Erfolg haben, gelingen, geraten |
| Italiano | riuscire |
| Ελληνικά | επιτυγχάνω epityncháno, καταφέρνω kataférno, κατορθώνω katorthóno |
| Română | reuși |
| Русский | преуспе́ть preuspétʹ, достига́ть це́ли dostigátʹ céli, дости́чь це́ли dostíčʹ céli |
| Tiếng Việt | thành công |
| العربية | نَجَحَ najaḥa |
| עברית | הִצְלִיחַ hitzlíaḥ, עָשָׂה חַיִל 'asá ḥáyil |
verb To descend, as an estate or an heirloom, in the same family; to devolve
| Русский | отходить otxoditʹ, переходить perexoditʹ |
|---|
verb To fall heir to; to inherit
| 日本語 | 継ぐ tsugu, 相続する sōzoku suru |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 继承 jìchéng |
| Português | suceder |
| Deutsch | nachfolgen |
| Русский | наследовать nasledovatʹ |
Talk about this word "succeed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/succeed. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. succeed. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/succeed "succeed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/succeed.Cite this
@misc{succeed_2026,
title = {succeed},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/succeed},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
