heir
n. countablen. a person who legally receives money, property, or a title when someone else dies. You are an heir if you are next in line to take over a family business or a throne.
n. a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another upon that person's death. Often used in legal or monarchical contexts to denote the successor in a line of inheritance.
He is the sole heir to his grandfather's large estate.
The king died without a direct heir, which caused a major crisis for the government.
Although she was the rightful heir to the company, she chose to pursue a career in medicine rather than taking over the family empire.
From Middle English heir, from Anglo-Norman eir, heir, from Latin hērēs.
Commonly followed by the preposition 'to' when identifying the inheritance or the predecessor.
an heir of the thronean heir to the throneWhen referring to the position or property being inherited, 'heir' typically takes the preposition 'to' rather than 'of'.