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posse Definition

posse (päs′ē)

noun

  1. Historical
    1. the body of men required, upon being summoned, to assist the sheriff in keeping the peace, pursuing felons, etc.
    2. a band of men, usually armed, so summoned
  2. any body of persons armed with legal authority
  3. ☆
    1. in the Old West, a group assembled to hunt for criminal fugitives
    2. a search party
  4. Slang
    1. a gang, esp. one engaged in selling drugs
    2. any group of people, as of a person's friends and associates

Etymology: ML, short for posse comitatus, power of the county < L posse, to be able (see potent) + comitatus, county < comes, a count

posse Synonyms

posse

n.

vigilantes, search party, civilian police, detachment, lynch mob, force armed with legal authority, armed band, group of deputies, police force, posse comitatus; see also law 6, police.

posse Law Definition
See in posse.
posse Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • lead: Nigel Martyn led a posse of protesting players, to no avail.
  • do: The company will have identified in a University or research establishment a set of skills and knowledge that the company itself does not posses.
  • have: I have a posse of witnesses that I was in Ely at the time.. .
  • form: This is not the wild west, this is not the time to get your rifle and form a posse.
  • send: However, the Sherif is unable to send a posse after them due to other higher priorities.

Converse of subject

  • pursue: His gang were also ordered to shoot at the horses, rather than the riders, when being pursued by posses.
  • surround: Now the truth is that the Weirs, father and son, were surrounded by a posse of strenuous loyalists.

Adjective modifier

  • small: A small posse of Police then headed into the crops, trampling down more crops than the protesters.
  • large: Three others quickly follow me down, with a large posse of chickens turning around at the top.

Modifies a noun

  • comitatus: The posse comitatus could be raised by the king's county official, the sheriff, to chase a criminal.

Noun used with modifier

  • youth: We are Bolton's youth environment posse and we come from all over Bolton.
  • dance: I also spent some time chilling with a break dance posse, trying out some new moves until the bouncers asked us to stop.

Preposition: in

  • order: What are the two qualities new technology should posses in order to win people's enthusiasm?

Preposition: of

  • man: Sheriff Bond had pulled together a fine posse of men.
  • player: Puttnam then stepped up to fire home from Tony Spearing's touch past a posse of players from both sides on a crowded goalline.
  • fan: The site lacks buzz but Delia has a huge posse of fans who love it.
  • police: He was accompanied by Mr. Salmond the Fiscal, Captain Miller, and a posse of police.
  • policeman: Cox, his wife and two teenage daughters, were in the house, together with a posse of armed policemen.
  • reporter: Ettie runs into another posse of reporters outside Meg's house.