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Definition of succession noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

succession

noun
 
/səkˈseʃn/
 
/səkˈseʃn/
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  1. [countable, usually singular] a number of people or things that follow each other in time or order synonym series
    • a succession of visitors
    • He's been hit by a succession of injuries since he joined the team.
    • in succession She has won the award for the third year in succession.
    • They had three children in quick succession.
    • The gunman fired three times in rapid succession.
    Extra Examples
    • This set in motion a succession of events.
    • She was cared for by a succession of nannies.
    • I rented out the cottage to a succession of tenants.
    • There has been a rise in crime for the second year in succession.
    • The team lost the final six years in succession.
    • They won several games in quick succession.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • endless
    • long
    • never-ending
    preposition
    • in succession
    • succession of
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable] the regular pattern of one thing following another thing
    • the succession of the seasons
    • the succession of images on a screen
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • endless
    • long
    • never-ending
    preposition
    • in succession
    • succession of
    See full entry
  3. [uncountable] the act of taking over an official position or title; the right to take over an official position or title, especially to become the king or queen of a country
    • in succession to somebody/something He became chairman in succession to Bernard Allen.
    • She's third in order of succession to the throne.
    • a line of succession
    Extra Examples
    • He wanted to have a son to ensure the succession.
    • The party has always attempted to secure an orderly succession of leaders.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • orderly
    • disputed
    • dynastic
    verb + succession
    • ensure
    • secure
    preposition
    • in succession to
    phrases
    • the line of succession
    • the order of succession
    • the right of succession
    See full entry
  4. see also succeed
    Word OriginMiddle English (denoting legal transmission of an estate or the throne to another, also in the sense ‘successors, heirs’): from Old French, or from Latin successio(n-), from the verb succedere ‘come close after’, from sub- ‘close to’ + cedere ‘go’.
See succession in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee succession in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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