plural noun
People, animals, or plants that come from earlier ones in the same family line or species.
The descendants of the settlers gathered for a reunion.
Many of her descendants still live in the same town.
American English
How to pronounce descendants
nounB2Common word
dihSEHnihnts
/dɪˈsɛ.nɪnts/
3 syllables · Stress the second syllable.
Form of descendant
People, animals, or plants that come from earlier ones in the same family line or species.
What to listen for
“Descendants” is usually pronounced /dɪˈsɛn.dənts/. In natural speech, you may also hear the shorter middle form /dɪˈsɛn.dn̩ts/.
Usual form/dɪˈsɛn.dənts/
Shorter middle form/dɪˈsɛn.dn̩ts/
Meanings & examples
plural noun
Later products, systems, or ideas that developed from earlier ones.
Many current smartphones are descendants of the first mobile phones.
These computer programs are descendants of an older system.