bequeathed; bequeathing; bequeaths
1
: to give or leave by will (see will entry 2 sense 1)
—used especially of personal property
a ring bequeathed to her by her grandmother
2
: to hand down : transmit
lessons bequeathed to future generations
Examples of bequeath in a Sentence
He bequeathed his paintings to the museum.
Lessons of the past are bequeathed to future generations.
Recent Examples on the Web
Which people names are most often bequeathed to dogs?
—
Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
The liberalism of the 1960s that bequeathed us the current woke democracy brought with it in turn a veritable Third Bill of Rights, proclaiming the imperative justice of creating our own lifestyles, cultures, morality, and identity.
—Charles Kesler, National Review, 20 June 2024
According to an essay in the exhibition catalogue by the Spiegel journalist Konstantin von Hammerstein, the thief was identified as Rudi Bernhardt, a East German train driver who smuggled the five paintings to West Germany with the help of a German couple who bequeathed the art to their children.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2021
The story follows housemates Bernie and Leah, who embark on a trip across rural Pennsylvania to pick up artwork bequeathed to Bernie by her disgraced former photography teacher.
—Anusha Praturu, Vulture, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for bequeath 
Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
The liberalism of the 1960s that bequeathed us the current woke democracy brought with it in turn a veritable Third Bill of Rights, proclaiming the imperative justice of creating our own lifestyles, cultures, morality, and identity.
—Charles Kesler, National Review, 20 June 2024
According to an essay in the exhibition catalogue by the Spiegel journalist Konstantin von Hammerstein, the thief was identified as Rudi Bernhardt, a East German train driver who smuggled the five paintings to West Germany with the help of a German couple who bequeathed the art to their children.
—Tessa Solomon For Artnews, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2021
The story follows housemates Bernie and Leah, who embark on a trip across rural Pennsylvania to pick up artwork bequeathed to Bernie by her disgraced former photography teacher.
—Anusha Praturu, Vulture, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for bequeath
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bequeath.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bequeath
Cite this Entry
“Bequeath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequeath. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
1
: to give or leave property by a will
2
: hand down sense 1
traditions bequeathed by our ancestors
Legal Definition
bequeath
transitive verb
be·queath
bi-ˈkwēth, -ˈkwēt͟h 
Etymology
Old English becwethan to speak to, address, leave by will, from be- to, about + cwethan to say
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