successors

IPA/səkˈses.ər/
KK[səksˈɛsɚz]IPA/səkˈses.ɚ/

successors — noun

  • successorssingular
  • successorsesplural

1. People or things that take the place of earlier people or things, especially in

1.nounB2
Definition

People or things that take the place of earlier people or things, especially in a role, title, or newer version of a product.

Example

Christopher trained two successors before he left the family company.

pattern: train + successors before leaving a role

Jisoo's successors at the bakery kept her sweet bun recipe alive.

possessive pattern: [person]'s successors

Common collocations
  • train successors
  • choose successors
  • possible successors
  • political successors
  • successors to the throne
  • successors to the model
  • later successors
Synonyms
  • heirs

    usually refers to family, legal, or royal inheritance rather than ordinary work transitions

  • replacements

    more general and often less formal; can also describe temporary fill-ins

  • followers

    can mean later people in a sequence, but often suggests supporters instead of official next holders

Antonyms
  • predecessors

    the people or things that held the role or existed before the later ones

  • forerunners

    earlier people or things that prepare the way, not those that take over afterward

Grammar Patterns

successors to [person/thing]

possible successors

train successors

Usage Note

Often followed by 'to' when naming what came before. With people, it usually suggests an official or planned handover; with products or systems, it points to newer versions that replace older ones.

Common Mistakes

The board met the company's predecessors after the director retired.
The board met the company's successors after the director retired.
'Predecessors' are the people or things that came earlier, not the ones taking over later.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Successors' is the broad formal choice for people or things that come next in an orderly handover or replacement. 'Heirs' is narrower and usually belongs to family, legal, or royal inheritance, so an heir may become a successor, but many work or product successors are not heirs. 'Replacements' is everyday and looser: it can describe someone filling a gap for a short time, without the sense of a planned chain. 'Followers' can mean later people in sequence, but it often suggests supporters, so it is less precise for jobs or titles. For products, English also uses 'later versions' when the focus is mainly technical improvement. Choose 'successors' when continuity and taking over matter most.

heirs ↗replacements ↗followers ↗later versions

Common collocations

Nouns

  • political successors
  • royal successors
  • software successors

Phrases

  • train successors
  • name successors
  • search for successors

Prepositions

  • successors to
  • successors of

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The plural noun 'successors' comes from 'successor', which English borrowed through Old French from Latin 'successor', meaning someone who follows after another. Behind it is the Latin verb 'succedere', meaning to go after or take another person's place. In modern English, the plural form refers to later people, products, or systems that come in after earlier ones.

First known use

13th century

13th century, in the meaning defined above