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inherit

/ɪnˈherɪt//ɪnˈherɪt/·verb
to receive a quality, title, or possession passed down from a predecessor
Fig. 1 — A plain grey iron nail stands on the bench, a couple of paperclips just lying on the ground beside it; by itself the nail does nothing.
01Definition

To inherit is to receive something handed down from a predecessor — money or property from a relative, a trait from a parent, a problem from whoever held the job before you. It comes from the Latin in- plus heres, 'heir'. The key is transmission from outside: what you inherit was someone else's first and is passed on to you — unlike an inherent quality, which a thing simply has of itself. A new manager inherits the team's old habits; brown eyes are inherited, not chosen.

02In use
  • iShe inherited a fortune her grandfather had spent a lifetime trying to accumulate.
  • iiIt is an inherited condition, prevalent in his family for generations.
  • iiiThe new government inherited an economy in deep recession.
03Collocations
  • inherit a fortune
  • inherit a trait
  • inherit the throne
  • inherit a problem
  • genetically inherited

Family inheritance (noun) · inheritor (noun) · inherited (adjective) · heritable (adjective)

04Relations

=come into, succeed to, be left, take over, be bequeathed

≠bequeath, earn

05Compared
PairThe difference
inherit vs inherentinherent = adjective, built in (inherent IN); inherit = verb, received (inherit FROM).
06TOEFL & IELTS

Don't mix it up with its look-alike inherent: inherit is a VERB (you receive something passed down), while inherent is an ADJECTIVE (a quality built into a thing). Watch the endings — inherit ends -it, inherent ends -ent — and the prepositions: you inherit something FROM someone, but a quality is inherent IN something. Common in TOEFL biology (inherited traits) and history (inherit the throne).

07Asked
How are traits inherited from parents?
Through genes — the units of instruction passed from parent to child in DNA. You inherit half your genes from each parent, and they shape traits like eye colour, height, and blood type. Some traits follow one gene simply; most result from many genes plus environment. What is inherited was literally handed down, copied from a predecessor's cells.
What is the difference between inherited and acquired traits?
An inherited trait is passed down in your genes and present from birth — eye colour, natural hair type. An acquired trait develops during life through environment or effort — a scar, a spoken language, big muscles from training. Inherited traits can pass to your children; acquired ones cannot. Genetics gives you one set; experience adds the other.
Can you inherit a disease?
You can inherit a predisposition to certain conditions — inherited or genetic disorders are passed down through genes, as with cystic fibrosis or Huntington's disease. Inheriting a risk is not the same as certainly developing the illness, since environment and chance also play a part. The careful phrase is 'an inherited condition' or 'a genetic predisposition'.
What does it mean to inherit money or property?
To receive it from someone who has died, usually a relative, under a will or by law — 'she inherited the house from her aunt'. The thing received is an inheritance, and the person who receives it is an heir or inheritor. This is the word's oldest everyday sense, from Latin heres, 'heir'.
What does 'inherit a problem' or 'inherit the throne' mean?
To take on something from a predecessor rather than create it yourself — 'the new government inherited a huge debt', 'she inherited the throne on her father's death'. The figurative use keeps the core of receiving from outside, which the scene above makes literal: a plain nail holds paperclips only while a magnet touches it, its pull borrowed, never its own.
What is the difference between inherit and inherent?
The quick tell: inherit is a verb — you receive something handed down; inherent is an adjective — a quality a thing has of itself. The full contrast, with both animated scenes, is on the inherent vs inherit page in the 'Compared' list above.