posse
/ˈpɑs.i/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.18 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A group or company of people, originally especially one having hostile intent; a throng, a crowd.
noun
A group of people summoned to help law enforcement.
noun
A group of (especially young) people seen as constituting a peer group or band of associates; a gang, a group of friends.
Colloquial
Example Sentences
- "It is traditional in America to criticize the schools; for more than a century, parents, self-styled experts, and educators themselves have attacked and indicted the educational system. No aspect of schooling has been more severely criticized than reading instruction. The current books have a long ancestry, and every innovation carries in its train a posse of suspicious and, one feels, unpersuadable observers."
- "He […] no sooner set his nose within the room to which he was directed, than the constable and his posse sprung upon him, before he had the least intimation of his design, or any opportunity of acting in his own defence."
- "Mathews then appointed Morton as a deputy sheriff and after a posse had been selected, they went in pursuit of the criminals. Within a few hours, the posse overtook the thieves."
- "While Wyatt dismounted and aimed his shotgun at Brocius, the rest of his posse retreated."
- "Jamaican posses can be traced back to the Jamaican neighborhoods, and posse names correspond to the names of each neighborhood in which the gangs operate."
- "Hey, sir? Sir, excuse me?” The blonde was calling out to him, in imperious tones that insisted on a reply. […] She was breaking a rule of big-city life, breaking it brazenly, sure of her power, confident of her turf and posse, fearing nothing."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɑs.i/
- British English: /ˈpɒs.i/
Usage
- American usage
- Slang
- Colloquial
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.