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
Our constitutional order has bequeathed us the freest and most prosperous society mankind has ever known.
—
Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Suzanne has followed her lead, has also bequeathed her body to the Faculté de Médecine.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
In The Friend, Watts plays a novelist and creative writing teacher whose solitary life is upended after the unexpected death of a friend (Bill Murray), who bequeaths his Great Dane to her, per the NYFF's official synopsis.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Although the one-party system Stalin bequeathed to Beijing has remained essentially unchanged since 1921, the lives described in these three books have nonetheless helped Chinese politics swing between opposing poles ever since the end of the old imperial system.
—Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for bequeath 
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Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Suzanne has followed her lead, has also bequeathed her body to the Faculté de Médecine.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
In The Friend, Watts plays a novelist and creative writing teacher whose solitary life is upended after the unexpected death of a friend (Bill Murray), who bequeaths his Great Dane to her, per the NYFF's official synopsis.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
Although the one-party system Stalin bequeathed to Beijing has remained essentially unchanged since 1921, the lives described in these three books have nonetheless helped Chinese politics swing between opposing poles ever since the end of the old imperial system.
—Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for bequeath
Dictionary Entries Near bequeath
Cite this Entry
“Bequeath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequeath. Accessed 5 Nov. 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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