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 in English as part of a term from common law, posse comitatus, which in Medieval Latin translates as “power or authority of the county.” Posse comitatus referred to a group of citizens summoned by a reeve (a medieval official) or 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 refer to any group organized to make a search or embark on a mission, and today one may read about posses organized for search and rescue efforts. 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 together for some shared purpose.

Synonyms of posse

• entourage

Examples of posse in a Sentence

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

After the Great Splintering that seemed to occur after the pandemic, digicore artists are dropping posse cuts and random madcap loosies with each other again. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 17 Dec. 2025

In April, a jury convicted Wenger of conspiracy to distribute and posses with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and obstruction of justice. —Tim Fang, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025

Grainier works with too many men to count, and watches as many get felled by falling logs, shot by avenging gunmen, or, in the case of one Chinese laborer, tossed into a ravine by a racist posse. —Rory Doherty, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

The pic follows a bank robber (Eastwood) and his irreverent sidekick (Bridges) who reassemble their old posse for a daring new heist. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for posse

• aussie
• basi
• bossy
• fossae
• glossy
• khasi
• lossy
• masi
• mossy
• quasi
• saucy
• bagasse

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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)