succeed
Other forms: succeeded; succeeding; succeeds
When you succeed at something, you reach a goal or do really well. If you practice speaking Arabic every day, you are likely to succeed at becoming fluent in this language.
When you succeed, you achieve the result you hope for, but another way to use succeed is to describe taking over a position. A prince who will inherit his father's kingdom will succeed his father one day, and a new high school principal can be said to succeed the old one. The Latin root of succeed is succedere, come close after.
Definitions of succeed
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attain success or reach a desired goal“The enterprise succeeded”“We succeeded in getting tickets to the show”
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synonyms:
bring home the bacon, come through, deliver the goods, win
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types:
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hit
hit the intended target or goal
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bring off, carry off, manage, negociate, pull off
be successful; achieve a goal
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clear, pass
go unchallenged; be approved
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hit the jackpot, luck out
succeed by luck
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nail, nail down, peg
succeed in obtaining a position
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make it, pass
go successfully through a test or a selection process
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run
make without a miss
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act, work
have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected
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pan out
be a success
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accomplish, achieve, attain, reach
gain with effort
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arrive, get in, go far, make it
succeed in a big way; get to the top
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score
get a certain number or letter indicating quality or performance
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get to, make, progress to, reach
reach a goal, e.g., "make the first team"
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clear
pass an inspection or receive authorization
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ace, breeze through, nail, pass with flying colors, sail through, sweep through
succeed at easily
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begin
achieve or accomplish in the least degree, usually used in the negative
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come to, strike
attain
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culminate
reach the highest or most decisive point
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compass
bring about; accomplish
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average
achieve or reach on average
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finagle, manage, wangle, wrangle
achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
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be the successor (of)“Will Charles succeed to the throne?”
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synonyms:
come after, follow
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Antonyms:
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come before, precede
be the predecessor of
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types:
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accede, enter
take on duties or office
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replace, supercede, supersede, supervene upon, supplant
take the place or move into the position of
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ascend
become king or queen
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deputise, deputize, step in, substitute
act as a substitute
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displace, preempt
take the place of or have precedence over
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usurp
take the place of
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oust
remove and replace
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come before, precede
Pronunciation
US
/səkˈsid/
UK
/səkˈsid/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘succeed'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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