inheritance
gb/ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/ us/ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/
B1
English
~ 4600
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
assets from a deceased person
Money or things you get when someone in your family dies.
Usage pattern:
receive [an/the] inheritance
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'inheritance' (the thing received) with 'to inherit' (the action).
Synonyms
bequest (More formal; usually refers to a specific item or sum of money left in a will.)
|
legacy (Can mean the same as inheritance but often used for non-material things too.)
Antonyms
debt (Opposite in the sense of financial burden rather than gain.)
Collocations
leave an inheritance
|receive an inheritance
|inheritance tax
|share of the inheritance
Themes
law
|family
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She received a large inheritance from her grandmother.
- The inheritance included a house and several acres of land.
- His inheritance was divided equally among all the children.
Learner examples
- I got an inheritance from my uncle.
- Her inheritance was a small house.
- They will share the inheritance.
Noun
technical
B2
event
2
genetic transmission of traits
The way parents pass their physical traits to their children.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'inheritance' in genetics with material possessions from someone who has died.
Synonyms
heredity (Scientific term for passing traits through genes.)
Antonyms
acquired characteristics (Traits gained during life, not inherited genetically.)
Collocations
genetic inheritance
|inheritance pattern
|inheritance of traits
Themes
science
|biology
|health
Examples
- Eye color is determined by genetic inheritance.
- Scientists study inheritance to understand diseases.
- Some diseases are caused by faulty inheritance of genes.
Learner examples
- Height is part of our inheritance.
- We get our hair color from inheritance.
- Inheritance can cause some health problems.
Noun
technical
B2
relation
3
object-oriented code reuse mechanism
In computer programming, when one type of object gets features from another type.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'inheritance' in programming with its legal meaning.
Synonyms
subclassing (Programming term for creating a class based on another class.)
Antonyms
composition (Alternative to inheritance in programming design.)
Collocations
class inheritance
|multiple inheritance
|inheritance hierarchy
Themes
technology
|computing
|education
Examples
- Inheritance allows code reuse between related classes.
- Multiple inheritance is supported in some programming languages.
- They redesigned the software to reduce deep inheritance hierarchies.
Learner examples
- Inheritance helps programmers reuse code.
- Some languages do not allow multiple inheritance.
- We use inheritance to make new classes.
Grammar
Dictionary form
inheritance
IPA
GB/ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/
US/ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/
Syllables & stress
in - her - it - ance (4 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (her)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: inheritance
- Plural: inheritance, inheritances
Word family
Forms
inheritances
noun
Related words
inheritor
noun
heirloom
noun
Negative and opposite forms
disinherit
verb
Advanced or less common
Expressions
inheritance tax
1/ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns tˈæks/
fixed phrase
tax on inherited assets
A tax you pay on money or things you get when someone dies.
Examples
- The country imposes a high inheritance tax.
- She had to pay inheritance tax on the property she received.
leave an inheritance
1/lˈiv ən ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/
fixed phrase
give assets after death
To arrange for someone to get your money or things after you die.
Examples
- They want to leave an inheritance for their children.
- My grandfather left an inheritance to all his grandchildren.
receive an inheritance
1/ɹɪsˈiv ən ɪnhˈɛɹɪtəns/
fixed phrase
get assets after someone's death
To get money or things when someone dies and leaves them to you.
Examples
- She received an inheritance from her aunt last year.
- He was surprised to receive an inheritance from a distant cousin.