posse

noun

pos·​se ˈpä-sē 

1

: a large group often with a common interest

2

: a body of persons summoned by a sheriff to assist in preserving the public peace usually in an emergency

3

: a group of people temporarily organized to make a search (as for a lost child)

4

: entourage sense 1

Did you know?

Posse started out as a technical term in law, part of the term "posse comitatus," which in Medieval Latin meant power or authority of the county. As such, it referred to a group of citizens summoned by a sheriff to preserve the public peace as allowed for by law. "Preserving the public peace" so often meant hunting down a supposed criminal that "posse" eventually came to mean any group organized to make a search or embark on a mission. In even broader use it can refer to any group, period. Sometimes nowadays that group is a gang or a rock band but it can as easily be any group - of politicians, models, architects, tourists, children, or what have you - acting in concert.

Synonyms

• cortege
• cortège
• entourage
• following
• retinue
• suite
• tail
• train

Example Sentences

The sheriff and his posse rode out to look for the bandits.

I went to the game with my posse.

Recent Examples on the Web

The response from a manager and a bartender toward dinner’s end was to introduce my posse to a Chinese spirit poised to make an appearance on the menu: clear firewater, potent as grappa, poured from a red-and-gold flask into thimble-size shot glasses. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2023

The judge was more lenient with Goss, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute cocaine, and was sentenced to five years’ probation. —Benoît Morenne, WIRED, 9 Mar. 2023

There's nothing quite like a posse of zombie back-up dancers. —Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 22 June 2022

Swift, 33, rocked a black minidress with spaghetti straps and black shoes and sunglasses as she and her posse were photographed walking down the street. —Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2023

This beleaguered individual arrives at games with a straggling multi-generational posse, 10 chairs, a picnic table, a blanket the size of Monaco, board games, a mesh tent, and a small portable toilet, quickly forming a delicate ecosystem without regard for others’ personal space. —Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2023

And after Bogart signed Bill Withers, did Berry Gordy really send around a posse of hoods to threaten Bogart with guns? —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Apr. 2023

Eating the construction, the Italian Americans in my posse get sentimental. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023

Durant was supposed to be the new sheriff in town, the loner who could organize these guys into a posse of gunslingers to clear out the wild West. —Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 11 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin posse comitatus, literally, power or authority of the county

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

posse

noun

pos·​se ˈpäs-ē 

1

: a group of people called upon by a sheriff for help (as in pursuit of a criminal)

2

: a number of people organized to make a search (as for a lost child)