# legacy

/ˈɫɛɡəsi/ (US) · /lˈɛɡəsi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/legacy
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. money or property in a will

noun · CEFR B2 · Formal

money or property that someone leaves to you when they die.

For teachers: a gift of property or money bequeathed to an individual or organisation through a will.

- She used the legacy from her grandfather to pay for her university tuition.
- The university received a substantial legacy from a former professor, which was immediately allocated to the new research wing.

Usage: Often used with the verb 'leave' or 'receive'.

### 2. historical impact

noun · CEFR B2

something that exists today because of what happened in the past.

For teachers: the long-term consequences or cultural impact of a person, event, or period.

- The Olympic Games left a positive legacy of new sports facilities for the city.
- Historians continue to debate the complex legacy of the colonial era and its influence on modern international relations.

Teaching tip: This is the most common figurative use, often discussing the 'legacy of war' or a 'political legacy'.

### 3. university admission

noun · CEFR C1 · American English

a student who gets special treatment at a university because their parents went there.

For teachers: an applicant to a college or university who is given preference because an ancestor is an alumnus.

- He was considered a legacy at Harvard because both his father and grandfather had graduated from there.
- The admissions board faced criticism for its policy of favouring legacies over applicants from underprivileged backgrounds.

Usage: Usually functions as a countable noun referring to the person.

Teaching tip: This is a specific cultural term in the United States; it is rarely used in this sense in the UK or elsewhere.

### 4. outdated technology

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

describes old software or equipment that is still being used even though better versions exist.

For teachers: referring to outdated computer systems, software, or hardware that remain in use because they are difficult or expensive to replace.

- The bank is struggling to update its legacy systems to work with modern mobile apps.
- The transition to the cloud was delayed by the need to maintain compatibility with several legacy applications that the company still relied on.

Usage: Always used before a noun.

Teaching tip: In business and IT, this often has a negative connotation of being slow or incompatible.

## Examples

- The old building is a legacy of the city's rich history.
- The new CEO struggled to modernize the bank because of its complicated legacy software systems.
- While the artist left a significant financial legacy to her children, her true impact was the cultural legacy she established through her pioneering work in abstract sculpture.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.