descend from
phrasal verb
descended from; descending from; descends from
: to have (something or someone in the past) as an origin or source
Recent evidence supports the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs.
The plants descend from a common ancestor.
They claim to be descended from a noble British family.
Examples of descend from in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The crew had been held hostage since November 2023, when armed Houthis – descending from a helicopter bearing Yemeni and Palestinian flags – stormed the ship off the coast of Yemen.
—
Christian Edwards, CNN, 22 Jan. 2025
Various progressive impulses and reforms of the Roosevelt and Wilson eras, New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, and above all, the Black Freedom Struggle built on and descended from this civic populist legacy.
—Harry Boyte and Trygve Throntveit, TIME, 4 Jan. 2025
Joe Manganiello finds out he's descended from slaves and uncovers a mystery on Finding Your Roots
The show also revealed that Shonda Rhimes, Joe Manganiello, and Maya Rudolph are descended from people who were enslaved prior to the American Civil War.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
Our modern-day house cats are descended from ancestors who lived in the desert, so enjoying the texture of sand may be a way to reconnect with their roots.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for descend from 
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Christian Edwards, CNN, 22 Jan. 2025
Various progressive impulses and reforms of the Roosevelt and Wilson eras, New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, and above all, the Black Freedom Struggle built on and descended from this civic populist legacy.
—Harry Boyte and Trygve Throntveit, TIME, 4 Jan. 2025
Joe Manganiello finds out he's descended from slaves and uncovers a mystery on Finding Your Roots
The show also revealed that Shonda Rhimes, Joe Manganiello, and Maya Rudolph are descended from people who were enslaved prior to the American Civil War.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
Our modern-day house cats are descended from ancestors who lived in the desert, so enjoying the texture of sand may be a way to reconnect with their roots.
—George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for descend from
Dictionary Entries Near descend from
Cite this Entry
“Descend from.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/descend%20from. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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