successor
person who replaces someone
A person who has a job, role, or title after another person and takes their place.
[someone] is the successor to [someone]
- She was seen as the natural successor to the outgoing CEO.
- After the king died, his eldest son became his successor.
- The party is still searching for a successor to the long‑serving leader.
- He has been groomed for years as the chairman’s eventual successor.
- As vice president, she is the constitutional successor to the president.
- The manager retired, and his assistant became his successor.
- People think she will be the successor to the famous singer.
- He is the clear successor to the team captain.
- They chose a young doctor as the old doctor’s successor.
- Who will be the successor to the current president?
later version of something
A new product, system, or law that comes after and takes the place of an older one of the same kind.
[something] is the successor to [something]
- The new model is the direct successor to last year’s phone.
- Many fans were disappointed with the game’s successor, which felt rushed.
- The act serves as a modern successor to the 19th‑century law.
- Its successor will feature a larger screen and a faster processor.
- The software’s successor finally fixed many long‑standing bugs.
- This car is the successor to the 2018 model.
- The company will release a successor to this phone next year.
- The new law is the successor to the old tax law.
- People are already talking about the successor to this popular app.
- The designer is working on a successor to the first game.
entity taking over legal role
A company, group, or country that takes the place of another one and keeps its legal rights and duties.
[organization] is the successor to [organization]
- The Czech Republic and Slovakia emerged as successor states to Czechoslovakia.
- Any liabilities will transfer to the successor company after the merger.
- As the legal successor to the foundation, the charity inherited all its assets.
- The treaty clearly defines which country is the successor state.
- The new corporation acts as the successor organization for all contractual purposes.
- The new company is the legal successor to the old one.
- After the country broke up, three small states became its successor states.
- The successor organization must follow the old contracts.
- The law describes the rights of a successor company.
- The bank is the successor to a smaller local firm.
next number or element
In math, the next number or item in a list where the things are in order.
the successor of [a number or element]
- In the natural numbers, the successor of 3 is 4.
- The successor function maps each integer to its immediate successor.
- Every non‑zero ordinal has a unique successor ordinal.
- We define the successor of n as n + 1.
- This sequence has no maximum, so every element has a successor.
- In this list of numbers, 6 is the successor of 5.
- For natural numbers, the successor of n is n plus one.
- The teacher asked, "What is the successor of 9?"
- In this order, each item has a successor and a predecessor.
- The successor of 10 is 11.
- Base: successor
- Plural: successors
natural successor
1obvious choice to follow
A person or thing that clearly seems to be the best or most expected one to come after another.
- With his experience, he was the natural successor to the head coach.
- Many saw the new model as the natural successor to the bestselling phone.
- She has become the natural successor to her mentor in the company.
rightful successor
1legitimate person to take over
A person who is the correct or fair person to have a job, role, or title after someone else.
- Many fans consider her the rightful successor to the legendary star.
- He claimed to be the rightful successor to the throne.
- The board agreed that she was the rightful successor to the founder.
spiritual successor
1unofficial continuation of a work
A new game, movie, book, or product that is not an official sequel but feels like it continues the same style or ideas as an older one.
- The film is often described as a spiritual successor to the director’s first hit.
- Fans see this indie game as a spiritual successor to the classic series.
- The show acts as a spiritual successor to the popular 1990s sitcom.
successor to
1takes over from another
Used to say that a person or thing comes after another and takes that person’s job, role, or place.
- She is widely seen as the successor to the current prime minister.
- The new console is the long‑awaited successor to the company’s first gaming system.
- The firm emerged as the main successor to the collapsed bank.