Table of Contents
Definition of Succession
(noun) The transfer of a particular office or status to another individual.
Examples of Succession
- The eldest son of a king takes the throne after his father dies.
- A company confirms who will take over when the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) steps down.
- A government determines who will lead in case a leader is incapacitated in anyway. For example, the United States’ presidential line of succession outlined in the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 is Vice President of the United States; Speaker of the House; President pro tempore of the Senate; Secretary of State; and then the officers of the Cabinet in the order of the creation of their department.
Succession Pronunciation
Syllabification: suc·ces·sion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /suhk-sEsh-uhn/
- British English – /suhk-sE-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /səkˈsɛʃən/
- British English – /səkˈsɛʃən/
Usage Note
- Plural: successions
Additional Information
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Succession
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “succession.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 8, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/succession/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
succession. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/succession/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “succession.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/succession/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“succession.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/succession/>.