inherit Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb obtain from someone after their death
    • I inherited a castle from my French grandparents
  2. verb receive from a predecessor
    • The new chairman inherited many problems from the previous chair
  3. verb receive by genetic transmission
    • I inherited my good eyesight from my mother

WordNet

In*her"it transitive verb
Etymology
OE. enheriten to inherit, to give a heritage to, OF. enheriter to appoint as an heir, L. inhereditare; pref. in- in + hereditare to inherit, fr. heres heir. See Heir.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Inherited; present participle & verbal noun Inheriting
Definitions
  1. (Law) To take by descent from an ancestor; to take by inheritance; to take as heir on the death of an ancestor or other person to whose estate one succeeds; to receive as a right or title descendible by law from an ancestor at his decease; as, the heir inherits the land or real estate of his father; the eldest son of a nobleman inherits his father's title; the eldest son of a king inherits the crown.
  2. To receive or take by birth; to have by nature; to derive or acquire from ancestors, as mental or physical qualities; as, he inherits a strong constitution, a tendency to disease, etc.
    Prince Harry is valiant; for the cold blood he did naturally inherit of his father he hath . . . manured . . . with good store of fertile sherris. Shak.
  3. To come into possession of; to possess; to own; to enjoy as a possession.
    But the meek shall inherit the earth. Ps. xxxvii. 11.
    To bury so much gold under a tree, And never after to inherit it. Shak.
  4. To put in possession of. R. Shak.
In*her"it intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To take or hold a possession, property, estate, or rights by inheritance.
    Thou shalt not inherit our father's house. Judg. xi. 2.

Webster 1913