English Reference
Noun

heiress

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˈɛɹəs/ UK /ˈeəɹɛs/ heiress UK spelling heiress's, heiresses

n.a woman or girl who will receive a lot of money or property when someone dies. Usually, this person is a member of a very wealthy family.

n.a female successor who inherits or is legally entitled to inherit a significant fortune or title.


SIMPLE

The young heiress inherited her grandfather's massive shipping company.

CONTEXTUAL

As the sole heiress to the tech empire, she spent years learning the business before taking over the board.

COMPLEX

The novel explores the social pressures faced by a nineteenth-century heiress whose vast dowry made her the target of several opportunistic suitors.

Usage

The feminine form of 'heir'; while 'heir' is increasingly used as a gender-neutral term, 'heiress' remains common in journalistic and literary contexts.

She was “hardly the glamorous heiress as portrayed,” Thangaraj said.

The Guardian· 7 Sept 2026

From heir + -ess.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated