Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
An inheritance hierarchy represents the relationship between classes where one class inherits properties and behaviors from another class. It forms a hierarchical structure with parent and child classes.
Related terms
Superclass/Base Class/Parent Class: A superclass or base class is the class that is being inherited from in an inheritance hierarchy.
Subclass/Derived Class/Child Class: A subclass or derived class is the class that inherits properties and behaviors from its superclass in an inheritance hierarchy.