Words / B2

s-uh-k-SESHUN/səkˈseʃn/

A succession is a number of people or things following one after another, or the process of taking over a title or job: a succession of pilots; succession to the throne. Series is looser; successive is the adjective (already elsewhere). A succession of one-off pilots is not a policy. Mix-up: success is winning (already in the dictionary); successor is the person who follows (already elsewhere). Do not write succession for a single success.

Meaning

A number of people or things following one after another; also the process of taking over a title or job.

Examples

• “A succession of one-off pilots is not a policy, the committee minutes said.”
• “The succession crisis featured in the history paper, which is the throne sense.”

Good to know

a succession of; in succession; succession to. Adjective: successive. Person: successor. Trap: success. History, news, and evaluations. One after another, or taking over — not a win.

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