- acquisition of property by descent or by will

- the action of following in order
"he played the trumps in sequence"

- a following of one thing after another in time
"the doctor saw a sequence of patients"

- a group of people or things arranged or following in order
"a succession of stalls offering soft drinks"
"a succession of failures"

- (ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established

1. The act of succeeding, or following after; a following of things in order of time or place, or a series of things so following; sequence; as, a succession of good crops; a succession of disasters.

2. A series of persons or things according to some established rule of precedence; as, a succession of kings, or of bishops; a succession of events in chronology.

"He was in the succession to an earldom." -- Macaulay.

3. An order or series of descendants; lineage; race; descent. "A long succession must ensue." Milton.

4. The power or right of succeeding to the station or title of a father or other predecessor; the right to enter upon the office, rank, position, etc., held ny another; also, the entrance into the office, station, or rank of a predecessor; specifically, the succeeding, or right of succeeding, to a throne.

"You have the voice of the king himself for your succession in Denmark." -- Shak.

"The animosity of these factions did not really arise from the dispute about the succession." -- Macaulay.

5. The right to enter upon the possession of the property of an ancestor, or one near of kin, or one preceding in an established order.

6. The person succeeding to rank or office; a successor or heir. [R.] Milton.

Apostolical succession
(Theol.) See under Apostolical.

Succession duty
a tax imposed on every succession to property, according to its value and the relation of the person who succeeds to the previous owner. [Eng.]

Succession of crops
(Agric.) See Rotation of crops, under Rotation.