post

A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fencepost; a lightpost.

Adverb

  1. With the post, on post-horses; by a relay of horses (changing at every staging-post); hence, express, with speed, quickly.
    • His highness comes post from Marseilles, - c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
    • In this posture were affairs at the inn when a gentleman arrived there post. - 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
    • We therefore determined to change Horses at the next Town and to travel Post the remainder of the Journey. - 1790, Jane Austen, “Love and Freindship”, in Juvenilia:
  2. Sent via the postal service.

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French poste, from Italian posta (“stopping-place for coaches”), feminine of posto (“placed, situated”).

Forms

poast

Noun obsolete

  1. Each of a series of men stationed at specific places along a postroad, with responsibility for relaying letters and dispatches of the monarch (and later others) along the route.
  2. A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travellers on some recognized route.
    • a stage or railway post
  3. A military base; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station.
    • September 6th.—The English mail of the 10th of July arrived to-day, and while Mr. Hart was at the Foreign Office engaged on business with Wan-se-ang and Hang-Ki, he received his Shang-hai letters, one of which contained...
  4. Someone who travels express along a set route carrying letters and dispatches; a courier.
    • I fear my Julia would not deign my lines, Receiving them from such a worthless post. - c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
    • in certain ſet places there be alwaies fresh Poſts, to carry that further which is brought unto them by the others - 1599, George Abbot, Geography, or a Brief Description of the Whole World:
    • information was filtered through the counting-houses and warehouses of Antwerp; posts galloped along the roads of the Low Countries, while dispatches streamed through Calais, and were passed off the merchant galleys...
  5. :
    • I sent a parcel via/by post.
    • I take it too as an opportunity of sending you the fair copy of the poem on Dullness, which was not then finished, and which I should not care to hazard by the common post. - 1707, Alexander Pope, Letter VII (to Mr....

    Synonyms: mail

    1. An organisation for delivering letters, parcels etc., or the service provided by such an organisation.

    2. A single delivery of letters; the letters or deliveries that make up a single batch delivered to one person or one address.

      • Royal Mail worker Evette Chapman gathered a team of 12 colleagues to deliver post in fancy dress and raise money for a nurses' charity and patients in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. - 2020 November 18, “Stop &...

      Synonyms: mail

  6. A message posted in an electronic or Internet forum, or on a blog, etc.
    • Oli conceded defeat and, in a post on X Saturday, congratulated Shah. “Balen Babu, Congratulations to you for the victory! May your five-year tenure be smooth and successful—heartfelt best wishes!” - 2026 March 11, Chad...
  7. A moderate to deep passing route in which a receiver runs 10-20 yards from the line of scrimmage straight down the field, then cuts toward the middle of the field (towards the facing goalposts) at a 45-degree angle.
    • Two of the receivers ran post patterns.
  8. Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.
    • And then in post he came from Mantua. - c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
  9. One who has charge of a station, especially a postal station.
    • there he held the office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post, for several years. - 1858, John Gorham Palfrey, chapter IV, in History of New England, volume 1, page 136:

Forms

posts poast

Derived

airpost block post blog post blogpost book post border post borderpost bottom-post by return of post command post Cossack post crosspost customs post dark post Dease Lake Post dispost drunkpost flounce post folio post freepost ghost post gunpost hardship post in the post

Noun Entry 3

  1. A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fencepost; a lightpost.
    • ram a post into the ground
  2. A stud; a two-by-four.
  3. A pole in a battery.
  4. A long, narrow piece inserted into a root canal to provide retention for a crown.
  5. A prolonged final melody note, among moving harmony notes.
  6. A printing paper size measuring 19.25 inches x 15.5 inches.
  7. A goalpost.
    • But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post. - 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
  8. A location on a basketball court near the basket.
  9. The doorpost of a victualler's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
    • when God ſends coyne, I will diſcharge your poaſt - 1600, Samuel Rowlands, The knauve of clubs:
  10. The vertical part of a crochet stitch.

Origin

Etymology tree Latin postisbor. Old English post Latin postisder. Old French postbor. Middle English post English post Inherited from Middle English post, from Old English post (“pillar, door-post”) and Old French post (“post, upright beam”), both from Latin postis (“door, post, doorpost”).

Forms

posts poast

Derived

ale post antepost A-post back post backpost barpost bedpost behind post be left at the post Bell Post Hill B-post cattlepost checkpost C-post crownpost deaf as a post doorpost D-post dumb as a post far post fencepost fingerpost first past the post flagpost

Noun Entry 4

  1. An assigned station; a guard post.
    • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the...
  2. An appointed position in an organization, job.
    • As hard as this may seem for some people to understand, my adamant stand in favor of President Clinton leaving his post was not personal. - 2005, Jesse Helms, “Bill Clinton”, in Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir, New York:...
    • She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that...

Origin

Probably from French poste.

Forms

posts poast

Derived

postholder

Noun broadcasting, film

  1. Post-production.
    • We'll fix it in post.
    • Admittedly many of these can be fixed in post, but this may limit your flexibility in other areas. - 2013, Bruce Mamer, Film Production Technique: Creating the Accomplished Image:

Origin

Clipping of post-production.

Forms

poast

Related

post-

Noun medicine, sciences

  1. A post mortem (an investigation of a body's cause of death).
    • I gotta run. Yes, send the kid to the morgue. We'll do a post on Monday. - 2010, Sandra Glahn, Informed Consent, page 306:

Origin

Clipping of post mortem.

Forms

posts poast

Preposition

  1. After; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications.
    • One of the most appealing things for me about Barack Obama has always been that he comes post the post-60s generation. - 2008, Michael Tomasky, “Obama cannot let the right cast him in that 60s show”, in The Guardian:
    • Lew reckons he had three options for the cash-cow which was Premier post the Coles sale. - 2008, Matthew Stevens, “Lew pressured to reveal what he knows”, in The Australian:

Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pós Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *pósti Proto-Italic *posti Old Latin poste Latin postbor. English post Borrowed from Latin post.

Forms

poast

Derived

ex post post factum post festum post hoc post meridiem post obitum

Verb Entry 8

  1. To hang (a notice) in a conspicuous manner for general review.
    • Post no bills.
    • Martin Luther posted his ninety five theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg.
  2. To announce publicly; to publish.
    • The company posted record profits this quarter.
    • Although New York City preceded many large cities in posting a drop in homicides and other violent offenses in the early 1990s, by the end of the decade it also seemed to be at the forefront of a possible cyclical...
    • He’s saying if you can’t win, quitting is okay? What would the PGA say if golfers quit the tournament after posting a high score? - 2024 August 23, @jbodineh, Twitter:
  3. To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation.
    • to post someone for cowardice
    • On Pain of being posted to your Sorrow Fail not, at Four, to meet me here To-morrow. - 1732, George Granville, Epilogue to the She-Gallants, line 13:
  4. To carry (an account) from the journal to the ledger.
    • You have not poſted your Books theſe Ten years; hovv is it poſſible for a Man of Buſineſs to keep his Affairs even in the VVorld at this rate? - 1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “Of John Bull’s...
  5. To inform; to give the news to; to make acquainted with the details of a subject; often with up.
    • thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day - 1872 March 2, “Interviewing a Prince”, in Saturday Review, volume 33, number 853, London, page 273:
  6. To deposit a payment that may or may not be returned.
    • Since Jim was new to the game, he had to post $4 in order to receive a hand.
    1. (gambling) To pay (a stake or blind).

    2. (law) To pay bail.

      • to post bail
      • For example, if the police or court sets bail at $1,000, and a suspect owns a fancy watch worth at least that amount, the defendant may be able to use the watch to post bail. - 2022 January 1, Paul Bergman, Sara J....
      • Because wealthy defendants are better positioned to post bail or provide collateral, the American bail system has been criticized as being biased against the poor. - 2010 May 18, David Andrew Schultz, Encyclopedia of...

Forms

posts posting posted poast

Derived

blogpost nonposted poster post the coal post up preposted unposted

Verb Entry 9

  1. To travel with relays of horses; to travel by post horses, originally as a courier.
    • Beyond Cologne we descended to the plain of Holland; and we resolved to post the remainder of our way […]. - 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […],...
  2. To travel quickly; to hurry.
    • Post speedily to my lord your husband. - c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • thousand at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait. - c. 1652, John Milton, "On His Blindness", line 13
  3. To send (an item of mail etc.) through the postal service.
    • Mail items posted before 7.00pm within the Central Business District and before 5.00pm outside the Central Business District will be delivered the next working day.
  4. To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, especially in trotting.
  5. To publish (a message) to a newsgroup, forum, blog, etc.
    • I couldn't figure it out, so I posted a question on the mailing list.

Forms

posts posting posted poast

Derived

autopost blogpost drunkpost flypost memepost mispost multipost necropost overpost postable postage poster post off repost unpost unposted

Verb Entry 10

  1. To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, etc.
  2. To assign to a station; to set; to place.
    • Post a sentinel in front of the door.
    • [I]t might be to obtain a ship for a lieutenant that had passed as master and commander, or to get him "posted"— […] - 1839 September, Thomas De Quincey, “Early Memorials of Grasmere”, in Autobiographic Sketches: With...

Forms

posts posting posted poast

Wikipedia

post