heir
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- pronunciation:
- eIr
- features:
- Homophone Note, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
An heir is a person who has the right to receive someone else's property or rank after that person dies. If a daughter is her father's heir, for example, it means that she will receive her father's property when he dies. If a boy is a king's heir, the boy will receive property, but he will also receive the rank of king. That means that he will become king when his father dies.
My father was his uncle's heir. His uncle owned a house on a lake until he died, and now my father owns it.Many young ladies wanted to marry Henry because he was the heir to a large estate. |
| related words: |
offspring |
| derivation: |
heirless (adj.) |
The words
heir,
air, and
ere sound alike but have different meanings.