succession
Americannoun
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the coming of one person or thing after another in order, sequence, or in the course of events.
many troubles in succession.
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a number of persons or things following one another in order or sequence.
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the right, act, or process, by which one person succeeds to the office, rank, estate, or the like, of another.
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the order or line of those entitled to succeed one another.
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the descent or transmission of a throne, dignity, estate, or the like.
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Also called ecological succession. Ecology. the progressive replacement of one community by another until a climax community is established.
noun
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the act or an instance of one person or thing following another
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a number of people or things following one another in order
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the act, process, or right by which one person succeeds to the office, etc, of another
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the order that determines how one person or thing follows another
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a line of descent to a title, etc
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ecology the sum of the changes in the composition of a community that occur during its development towards a stable climax community
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in a manner such that one thing is followed uninterruptedly by another
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The gradual replacement of one type of ecological community by another in the same area, involving a series of orderly changes, especially in the dominant vegetation. Succession is usually initiated by a significant disturbance of an existing community. Each succeeding community modifies the physical environment, as by introducing shade or changing the fertility or acidity of the soil, creating new conditions that benefit certain species and inhibit others until a climax community is established.
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◆ The sequential development of plant and animal communities in an area in which no topsoil exists, as on a new lava flow, is called primary succession.
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◆ The development of such communities in an area that has been disturbed but still retains its topsoil, as in a burned-over area, is called secondary succession.
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See more at climax community
Related Words
See series.
Other Word Forms
- nonsuccession noun
- nonsuccessional adjective
- nonsuccessionally adverb
- successional adjective
- successionally adverb
Etymology
Origin of succession
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin successiōn- (stem of successiō ) “a following (someone) in office,” equivalent to success(us), past participle of succēdere “to succeed” ( succeed ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Iran's political system has procedures for the succession of the supreme leader, and his "removal does not mean the end" for a system with many centres of power and redundancies in place, Razoux told AFP.
From Barron's
The succession process today will be fundamentally different.
Iran had been prepared for this possibility though, with reports that the plans for succession for not just the Khamenei but also an array of senior officials had been put in place.
From BBC
Her growing profile has South Korea’s spy agency believing she is increasingly positioned to succeed her father, although North Korea has stayed mum on the succession topic.
The comments are her clearest on the issue -- the subject of increasing debate as a succession crisis looms -- since her party's landslide election victory this month.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
