POST

n., v., & adv. --n. 1 Brit. the official conveyance of parcels, letters, etc. (send it by post). 2 Brit. a single collection, dispatch, or delivery of these; the letters etc. dispatched (has the post arrived yet?). 3 Brit. a place where letters etc. are dealt with; a post office or postbox (take it to the post). 4 hist. a one of a series of couriers who carried mail on horseback between fixed stages. b a letter-carrier; a mail cart. --v. 1 tr. put (a letter etc.) in the post. 2 tr. (esp. as posted adj.) (often foll. by up) supply a person with information (keep me posted). 3 tr. a enter (an item) in a ledger. b (often foll. by up) complete (a ledger) in this way. c carry (an entry) from an auxiliary book to a more formal one, or from one account to another. 4 intr. a travel with haste, hurry. b hist. travel with relays of horses. --adv. express; with haste. øpost-chaise hist. a travelling carriage hired from stage to stage or drawn by horses hired in this manner. post exchange US Mil. a shop at a military camp etc. post-free Brit. carried by post free of charge or with the postage prepaid. post-haste with great speed. post-horn a valveless horn formerly used to announce the arrival of the post. Post Office 1 the public department or corporation responsible for postal services and (in some countries) telecommunication. 2 (post office) a a room or building where postal business is carried on. b US = postman's knock. post-office box a numbered place in a post office where letters are kept until called for. post-paid on which postage has been paid. post room the department of a company that deals with incoming and outgoing mail. post-town a town with a post office, esp. one that is not a sub-office of another. [F poste (fem.) f. It. posta ult. f. L ponere posit- place]