Meaning & use
inheritance
Money, property, or a title received from someone after their death, or a trait passed down biologically.
See it in a sentence
She used her small inheritance from her grandmother to pay off her student loans.
Eye color is one example of genetic inheritance passed from parents to children.
A note on using this word
The legal sense involves wills and property; the biological sense refers to genes passed between generations.
Words with a similar meaning
legacybequest
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
The passing of genetic traits from parents to offspring.
The textbook chapter on inheritance explained how recessive genes are passed down.
Make it your own
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