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posse

noun
pos·​se | \ ˈpä-sē How to pronounce posse (audio) \

Definition of posse

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
Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about posse

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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.

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

 Surveillance video captured the moment when a posse of heavily armed home invaders broke down the backdoor to a League City home – and the moment when one of them flopped into a pool during their escape. — Jay R. Jordan, Houston Chronicle, "Home invasion suspect falls into pool after League City break-in, criminal group remains at large," 6 Sep. 2019 In the music video from the same year, Lizzo and a posse of black ladies get their hair tossed and done up to celebrate being done with men who don’t deserve them. — Heran Mamo, Billboard, "Here Are the Lyrics to Lizzo's 'Good as Hell'," 4 Sep. 2019 He was accompanied by a small posse and a TMZ staffer peppering him with questions. — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, "Ex-Warrior Kevin Durant spied walking in West Hollywood — without crutches," 1 Aug. 2019 The marshal had been transporting prisoners through Knott County, Kentucky, when he was ambushed by a posse that was looking to free the moonshiners, Turk said. — Louisville Courier Journal, The Courier-Journal, "Slain Kentucky marshal honored over a century later in Texas," 27 July 2019 The truth was that Quichotte had almost no friends anymore—no social group, no cohort, no posse, no real pals—having long ago abandoned the social whirl. — Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, "The Little King," 22 July 2019 The royal posse, which also included Genevieve Hillis and Lindsay Roth, turned out for the Women’s Final. — Meagan Fredette, refinery29.com, "Meghan Markle's Wimbledon Hair Is A Look She Rarely Wears," 15 July 2019 With a loving wife and daughter, a career that motivates and inspires me, and a posse of friends that are my lifeline. — NBC News, "How Pfizer's Sally Susman handled the interview question: 'What does your husband do?'," 18 June 2019 Several dozen men quickly formed a posse intent on killing the tiger, forestry officials said. — Hari Kumar, BostonGlobe.com, "Tiger beaten to death on video, outraging India," 26 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'posse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of posse

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 2

History and Etymology for posse

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

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More Definitions for posse

posse

noun
How to pronounce posse (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of posse

: a group of people who were gathered together by a sheriff in the past to help search for a criminal
informal : a group of people who are together for a particular purpose
informal : a group of friends

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

posse

noun
pos·​se | \ ˈpä-sē How to pronounce posse (audio) \

Kids Definition of posse

: a group of people gathered together to make a search and especially in the past to search for a criminal

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