{
    "term": "heir",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a person who has the legal right to receive somebody’s property, money or title when that person dies",
            "sensetop": "heir (to something)heir (of somebody)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to be heir to a large fortune"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the heir to the throne *(= the person who will be the next king or queen)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the son and heir of the Earl of Lancaster"
                },
                {
                    "text": "At the age of twenty he fell heir to a large estate."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He has no heir to leave his fortune to."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He left most of his property to his eldest son and heir."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He planned to marry and produce an heir for his estate."
                },
                {
                    "text": "On his brother's death he became heir apparent to the title."
                },
                {
                    "text": "On his deathbed he named his second son as his heir."
                },
                {
                    "text": "When the Earl of Surrey died in 1347 he left no direct heir."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Family and relationships", "Money"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["legal", "legitimate", "rightful"],
                "verb + heir": ["have", "beget", "produce"],
                "preposition": ["heir to"],
                "phrases": ["the heir to the throne", "somebody’s son and heir"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a person who is thought to continue the work or a tradition started by somebody else",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the president’s political heirs"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The house was her spiritual home for which she sought a spiritual heir."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["legal", "legitimate", "rightful"],
                "verb + heir": ["have", "beget", "produce"],
                "preposition": ["heir to"],
                "phrases": ["the heir to the throne", "somebody’s son and heir"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/eə(r)/",
                "audio": "he/heir/heir__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/er/",
                "audio": "he/heir/heir__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: via Old French from Latin heres."
}