inherit
/ɪnˈhɛɹɪt/verb
inherit is spelled I-N-H-E-R-I-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, inherit means “To receive (property, a title, etc.), by legal succession or bequest, usually after the previous owner's death” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inherit?
| Letters | 7: I-N-H-E-R-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is inherit?
Inherit appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th 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 inherit?
- /ɪnˈhɛɹɪt/
Inherit has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-inherit.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of inherit
- inherits present, singular, he/she/it
- inheriting participle, present
- inherited participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inherit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To receive (property, a title, etc.), by legal succession or bequest, usually after the previous owner's death.
After Grandad died, I inherited the house.
- 2
To come into an inheritance.
Lucky old Daniel – his grandfather died rich, and he's inherited.
- 3
To take possession of as a right (especially in Biblical translations).
Your descendants will inherit the earth.
- 4
To receive a characteristic from one's ancestors by genetic transmission.
Let's hope the baby inherits his mother's looks and his father's intelligence.
- 5
To derive from people or conditions previously in force.
This country has inherited an invidious class culture.
- 6
To derive (existing functionality) from a superclass.
ModalWindow inherits all the properties and methods of Window.
- 7
To derive a new class from (a superclass).
- 8
obsoleteTo put in possession of.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inherit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 inherit come from?
From Middle English enheriten, from Old French enheriter, from Late Latin inhereditare (“make heir”). Displaced native Old English ierfan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).