post

1 of 8

noun (1)

ˈpōst 

1

: a piece (as of timber or metal) fixed firmly in an upright position especially as a stay or support : pillar, column

2

: a pole or stake set up to mark or indicate something

especially : a pole that marks the starting or finishing point of a horse race

3

a

: goalpost

b

: a football passing play in which the receiver runs downfield before turning towards the middle of the field

4

: the metal stem of a pierced earring

5

: a metallic fitting attached to an electrical device (such as a storage battery) for convenience in making connections

post

2 of 8

verb (1)

posted; posting; posts

transitive verb

1

: to affix to a usual place (such as a wall) for public notices : placard

2

a

: to publish, announce, or advertise by or as if by use of a placard

b

: to denounce by public notice

c

: to enter on a public listing

d

: to forbid (property) to trespassers under penalty of legal prosecution by notices placed along the boundaries

e

: score

posted a 70 in the final round

3

: to publish (something, such as a message) in an online forum (such as an electronic message board)

post

3 of 8

noun (2)

1

: something (such as a message) that is published online

2

chiefly British

a

: a nation's organization for handling mail

also : the mail handled

b(1)

: a single dispatch of mail

(2)

: letter sense 2a

c

: post office

d

: postbox

3

archaic

a

: one of a series of stations for keeping horses for relays

b

: the distance between any two such consecutive stations : stage

4

obsolete : courier

post

4 of 8

verb (2)

posted; posting; posts

transitive verb

1

: to make familiar with a subject : inform

kept her posted on the latest gossip

2

: mail

post a letter

3

a

: to transfer or carry from a book of original entry to a ledger

b

: to make transfer entries in

4

archaic : to dispatch in haste

intransitive verb

1

: to rise from the saddle and return to it in rhythm with a horse's trot

2

: to ride or travel with haste : hurry

3

: to travel with post-horses

post

5 of 8

adverb

: with post-horses : express

post

6 of 8

noun (3)

1

a

: the place at which a soldier is stationed

especially : a sentry's beat or station

b

: a station or task to which one is assigned

c

: the place at which a body of troops is stationed : camp

d

: a local subdivision of a veterans' organization

e

: one of two bugle calls sounded (as in the British army) at tattoo

2

a

: an office or position to which a person is appointed

b

: an area on a basketball court that is located just outside the free throw lane usually near the basket

also : the offensive position of a player occupying the post

3

a

: trading post, settlement

b

: a trading station on the floor of a stock exchange

post

7 of 8

verb (3)

posted; posting; posts

transitive verb

1

a

: to station in a given place

guards were posted at the doors

b

: to carry ceremoniously to a position

posting the colors

2

chiefly British : to assign to a unit, position, or location (as in the military or civil service)

3

: to put up

O'Brien claims city cops roughed him up and refused to let him post bond.

—Jeffrey Ressner

post-

8 of 8

prefix

1

a

: after : subsequent : later

postdate

b

: behind : posterior : following after

postlude

postconsonantal

2

a

: subsequent to : later than

postoperative

b

: posterior to

postorbital

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• column
• pier
• pilaster
• pillar
• stanchion

Verb (1)

• placard

Noun (2)

• correspondence
• mail
• matter
• parcel post
• snail mail

Verb (2)

• mail

Noun (3)

• assignment
• brief
• business
• charge
• detail
• job
• mission
• operation

Verb (3)

• detail
• station

Examples of post in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The couple revealed the happy news on Wednesday with an Instagram post featuring their son, Elio Ocean Wright Lococo, sporting a white and dark yellow striped hat and onesie, while he’s snuggled up in a blanket. —Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 28 Sep. 2023

The lyrics are crafted with precision, and each bar has the potential to caption Instagram posts from selfies to put-downs. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023

In the post, a young woman started her day in a plush pink bathrobe, eating leisurely from a takeout container of spicy hot pot. —Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023

Sam Trabucco The co-CEO of Alameda Research alongside Ellison, Trabucco left the post three months before the collapse of FTX. —Joel Khalili, WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023

In the post, Benz shared screenshots of his many recent criticisms of Rodericks on the platform. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2023

That is according to an Instagram post shared by What Is New York that went viral and caught the eye of the filmmaker’s famous father, Francis Ford Coppola. —Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2023

To reply to other posts, simply include ‘re:’ or ‘to’ the topic in the subject line of your post. —Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023

Uzo Aduba is showing love to her filmmaker husband Robert Sweeting with a sweet celebratory post on Instagram celebrating their three-year wedding anniversary. —Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023

Verb

Victoria Beckham Reveals How Spice Girls Inspired Her Fashion and Beauty Lines: 'Learned So Much' Longoria, 48, celebrated her friend's success by posting a string of clips on her Instagram Story featuring her arrival for the catwalk show and mingling with guests. —Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 30 Sep. 2023

Musk, who owns Tesla, SpaceX and X, has shown significant interest in the ongoing crisis along the border and has been posting about it frequently on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 29 Sep. 2023

Decades after the tragic event, Feinstein continued to remember Milk, regularly posting about him on his birthday or on the anniversary of the assassinations. —Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2023

Last week, on National Voter Registration Day, Swift posted on Instagram encouraging young people to register to vote. —Edith Olmsted, The New Republic, 29 Sep. 2023

That Twitter, with virtually every news editor reading it and everyone who was anyone posting there, is no more. —Bruce Schneier, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2023

In online auctions, companies like Storage Treasures post a few snapshots of units, many crammed with shoes, clothing, tables or chairs. —Chelsia Rose Marcius, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2023

The collateral Alameda had posted as security against the loans: the now-worthless FTT token. —Joel Khalili, WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023

Bradish has gotten better as the season’s progressed, posting a 2.25 ERA in July and a 2.12 in August. —Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 2 Sep. 2023

Adverb

Brimming with midcentury character, the 3,700-square-foot home features post-and-beam construction, tongue-and-groove ceilings and walls of glass. —Spencer Elliott, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023

Both appeared energetic in media interviews post-landing, although detailed medical results were not disclosed. —Elizabeth Howell, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English, from Latin postis; probably akin to Latin por- forward and to Latin stare to stand — more at portend, stand

Noun (2)

Middle French poste relay station, courier, from Old Italian posta relay station, from feminine of posto, past participle of porre to place, from Latin ponere — more at position

Noun (3)

Middle French poste, from Old Italian posto, from past participle of porre to place

Prefix

Middle English, from Latin, from post; akin to Lithuanian pas at, Greek apo away from — more at of

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

circa 1640, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Noun (2)

1507, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Verb (2)

1533, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3

Adverb

1549, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb (3)

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing post

• by return of post
• ex post facto
• as deaf as a post
• command post
• from pillar to post
• king post
• post-Darwinian
• post exchange
• post-eruption
• post-Einsteinian
• post-COVID syndrome
• listening post
• post-communion
• post chaise
• parcel post
• post-Christian
• post-Holocaust
• post-free
• post hoc
• post horn
• post-Kantian
• post-horse
• post meridiem
• post no bills
• post oak
• post-racial
• post-nuclear
• post-op
• post office box
• post office
• post-resurrection
• post-Reformation
• post-polio syndrome
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• post up
• registered post
• post-Victorian
• post road
• staging post
• the last post
• post-structuralism
• post time
• post-traumatic
• queen post
• winning post
• trading post
• whipping post
• post-Depression
• post-Romantic
• post-Freudian
• ante-post
• scratching post
• post-acute COVID syndrome

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• by return of post
• ex post facto
• as deaf as a post
• command post
• from pillar to post
• king post
• post-Darwinian
• post exchange
• post-eruption
• post-Einsteinian
• post-COVID syndrome
• listening post
• post-communion
• post chaise
• parcel post
• post-Christian
• post-Holocaust
• post-free
• post hoc
• post horn
• post-Kantian
• post-horse
• post meridiem
• post no bills
• post oak
• post-racial
• post-nuclear
• post-op
• post office box
• post office
• post-resurrection
• post-Reformation
• post-polio syndrome
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• post up
• registered post
• post-Victorian
• post road
• staging post
• the last post
• post-structuralism
• post time
• post-traumatic
• queen post
• winning post
• trading post
• whipping post
• post-Depression
• post-Romantic
• post-Freudian
• ante-post
• scratching post
• post-acute COVID syndrome

See More

Kids Definition

post

1 of 7 noun

ˈpōst 

1

: a piece of timber or metal fixed upright especially as a support : pillar

2

: a pole or stake set up as a marker

the starting post

3

: a metallic fixture attached to an electrical device (as a battery) for making connections

post

2 of 7 verb

1

a

: to fix notices to or on a suitable place (as a bulletin board)

b

: to publish or announce by or as if by a notice

posted the students' grades

2

: to forbid persons from entering or using by putting up warning notices

post a trout stream

3

: score entry 2 sense 1a

posted a 72 for the round

4

: to publish (as a message) in an online forum

post

3 of 7 noun

1

chiefly British : postal service

2

chiefly British : the mail handled by the post

3

chiefly British : a single shipment of mail

4

: something (as a message) that is posted online

post

4 of 7 verb

1

: to ride or travel with haste : hurry

2

: mail entry 2

3

: to transfer a bookkeeping item from a book of original entry to an account book

4

: to make familiar with a subject : inform

post

5 of 7 noun

1

a

: the place at which a soldier or guard is stationed

b

: a station or task to which a person is assigned

c

: a place to which troops are assigned : camp

2

: an office or position to which a person is appointed

3

: trading post

post

6 of 7 verb

1

: to station in a given place

post a guard

2

: to give as a guarantee of payment

post a bond

post-

7 of 7 prefix

1

a

: after : later

postdate

b

: behind

2

: following : later than

postscript

Etymology

Noun

Old English post "an upright timber for support, pillar," from Latin postis (same meaning)

Noun

from early French poste "a relay station, one who carries messages," from early Italian posta "relay station," derived from porre (verb) "to place," from Latin ponere "to place" — related to post entry 5

Noun

from early French poste "place where soldiers are stationed," from early Italian posto (same meaning), derived from porre (verb) "to place," from Latin ponere "to place" — related to post entry 3

Prefix

derived from Latin post "after, later"

Legal Definition

post

transitive verb

: to put up (as bond)

post bail

Biographical Definition

Post

biographical name

ˈpōst 

Emily 1872–1960 née Price American columnist and writer