/ səkˈseʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C , usually sing. ] a number of people or things that follow each other in time or order
SYN series :
a succession of visitors
He's been hit by a succession of injuries since he joined the team.
She has won the award for the third year in succession .
They had three children in quick succession .
The gunman fired three times in rapid succession .
2.
[ U ] the regular pattern of one thing following another thing :
the succession of the seasons
3.
[ U ] the act of taking over an official position or title; the right to take over an official position or title, especially to become the king or queen of a country :
He became chairman in succession to Bernard Allen.
She's third in order of succession to the throne.
—see also succeed
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (denoting legal transmission of an estate or the throne to another, also in the sense successors, heirs ): from Old French , or from Latin successio(n-) , from the verb succedere come close after, from sub- close to + cedere go.