heir
/ˈɛə̯/noun, verb
heir is spelled H-E-I-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, heir means “Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of heir is heirs.
How many letters and syllables are in heir?
| Letters | 4: H-E-I-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 7.8 times per million words; the 8,417th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is heir?
Heir appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce heir?
- UK /ˈɛə̯/
- UK [ˈɛə̯]
- /ˈɜː/
Heir has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-heir.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with heir
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: air (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with heir?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as heir from its last stressed vowel (/ɛə/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hire.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of heir
- heirs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- heiring participle, present
- heired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heir mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who inherits, or is designated to inherit, the property of another.
My brother is the heir to our childhood house and yet has no interest in it.
- 2
One who inherits, or has been designated to inherit, a hereditary title or office.
As the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales is a very public figure.
- 3
A successor in a role, representing continuity with the predecessor.
verb
- 1
To inherit.
[…] Leonard Houtz & John Myer to be executors to this my last will & testament & lastly my children shall heir equally, one as much as the other.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heir in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | héritier, héritière, successeur, successeuse, successrice |
| German | Erbe, Erbin , Thronerbe |
| Portuguese | herdeiro , sucessor |
| Spanish | heredero, cabalero , sucesor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does heir come from?
From Middle English heir, from Anglo-Norman eir, heir, from Latin hērēs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).