POTUS

abbreviation or noun

ˈpō-təs 

variants or less commonly Potus

: the president of the United States

—often used like a nickname

The Bushes held their first state dinner. POTUS served buffalo meat, wore cowboy boots and welcomed Clint Eastwood.

—Newsweek

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some other acronyms like POTUS?

The oldest -OTUS ("of the United States") acronym is SCOTUS ("Supreme Court of the United States"), in use since the 1870s. POTUS ("President of the United States") is the second oldest, coming some twenty years after SCOTUS. FLOTUS ("First Lady of the United States") is another, thought to have originated in the 1980s. Less common than these, but still occasionally found, is VPOTUS ("Vice President of the United States").

Is POTUS always capitalized?

The most common form of the word is POTUS, although it is also found as Potus. Less common, and formerly used more frequently in the early 20th century, is potus.

What is the origin of the word POTUS?

POTUS is an acronym created by taking the first letter of each word in "President of the United States." According to our earliest records of its use, it came into being in the 1890s as an abbreviation used by telegraph operators. POTUS was likely based on the slightly older SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States), which had been used by telegraph operators since the 1870s.

Examples of POTUS in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Right by Trump’s side at the last UFC pile-on POTUS attended, Elon Musk was nowhere to be seen Saturday. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 8 June 2025

Musk, former Senior Advisor to the POTUS, openly opposes The One, Big, Beautiful Bill. —Charles Singh, USA Today, 7 June 2025

All in all, at least so far, the POTUS has actually been the cooler head to prevail in this breakup. —Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025

This Mission marks the first appearance of Angela Bassett's Erika Sloane, the deputy director of the CIA (who is upgraded to POTUS in Final Reckoning), as well as arms broker and con artist Alanna Mitsopolis, codename: The White Widow. —EW.com, 21 May 2025

The official White House and POTUS Instagram accounts shared multiple pictures of the President awarding the medals after the event. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025

Not just the threat-of-extinction stuff, which includes Bassett’s POTUS debating which American city to blow up as a preemptive gesture, but by its own irritating God’s-eye omniscience that rarely allows the suspense to spool out in the present. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025

In the sketch ‘The White POTUS‘, the cast used a parody of the recent Thailand-set Season 3 to make a few swipes at the Trumps, while also poking fun at Chelsea with Sherman in a pair of buck teeth. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 15 May 2025

But none of it will matter because this is obviously unconstitutional, the POTUS can't set prices by executive fiat. —Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for POTUS

• glottis
• epiglottis
• serratus