Meaning & use
legatee
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablelegal
A person named in a will to receive a gift of money or property.
Grammar: Countable: the legatee of the house; the legatees under the will.
Patterns
- the legatee of something
- a legatee under a will
The lawyer told the legatee that the cottage was hers.
Each legatee received a share of the estate within a year.
The main legatee was a young nephew who had never met the deceased.
nouncountableliteraryrare
A person who receives something from another in a wider sense, especially a tradition or reputation.
Grammar: Literary and rare; usually followed by 'of': a legatee of the old school.
Patterns
- a legatee of something
As a legatee of her mentor's methods, she taught the same way.
The mayor saw himself as a legatee of the city's long civic tradition.
The younger painters were legatees of a bold style.
Word forms
| plural | legatees |
|---|
Common combinations
- sole legatee
- His daughter was named the sole legatee.
- residuary legatee
- The residuary legatee received whatever was left over.
- named legatee
- The named legatee must claim the gift within a year.
- legatee under the will
- She is a legatee under the will.
- notify the legatees
- The executor must notify the legatees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beneficiary
- A beneficiary is broader and can mean anyone who gains, including from a trust or policy, whereas legatee refers specifically to a will.
- heir
- An heir inherits by family right and may do so without a will, while a legatee is chosen in the will.
- inheritor
- Inheritor is an everyday word with no legal precision, while legatee is the formal term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: legatee or delegate? legatee or legate?
legatee vs delegate
A delegate is a person chosen to represent others, which is unrelated to inheriting property.
legatee vs legate
A legate is an official envoy, especially of the pope, and is not related to wills.
Practice
In a will, the person who receives a gift of property is called the
Choose one answer.
The legatee receives the gift. The testator wrote the will and the executor carries out its terms, the tempting wrong options.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “legatee”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.