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posthaste

noun
post·​haste | \ ˈpōst-ˈhāst How to pronounce posthaste (audio) \

Definition of posthaste

 (Entry 1 of 3)

archaic
: great haste

posthaste

adverb

Definition of posthaste (Entry 2 of 3)

: with all possible speed

posthaste

adjective

Definition of posthaste (Entry 3 of 3)

obsolete
: speedy, immediate requires your … posthaste appearance— William Shakespeare
Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about posthaste

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Did You Know?

Adverb

In the 16th century, "haste, post, haste" was used to inform "posts," as couriers were then called, that a letter was urgent and must be hastily delivered. Posts would then speedily gallop along a route with a series of places at which to get a fresh horse or to relay the letter to a fresh messenger. Shakespeare was one of the first to use a version of the phrase adverbially in Richard II. "Old John of Gaunt . . . hath sent post haste / To entreat your Majesty to visit him," the Bard versified. He also used the phrase as an adjective in Othello (a use that is now obsolete): "The Duke . . . requires your haste-post-haste appearance," Lieutenant Cassio reports to the play's namesake.

Examples of posthaste in a Sentence

Adverb

 ran posthaste for the doctor

First Known Use of posthaste

Noun

1545, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1569, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1594, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for posthaste

Noun

post entry 3

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More Definitions for posthaste

posthaste

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of posthaste

literary : very quickly : with great speed

See the full definition for posthaste in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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