Jump To:
-
postscript
postscript
noun
a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.
-
PostScript
PostScript
a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.
1 American
[pohst-skript, pohs-] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs- /
noun
-
postscripts
plural
-
a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.
-
any addition or supplement, as one appended by a writer to a book to supply further information.
PostScript 2 American
[pohst-skript, pohs‑] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs‑ /
Trademark.
-
a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.
postscript British
/ ˈpəʊsˌskrɪpt, ˈpəʊst- /
noun
-
a message added at the end of a letter, after the signature
-
any supplement, as to a document or book
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of postscript
1515–25; < Latin postscrīptum, neuter past participle of postscrībere to write after
Explanation
A postscript is text added at the end of a book or other document. Your textbook is so long that by the time you finish it, you're too exhausted to read the postscript. Postscript comes from the Latin word postscribere, with post meaning after and scribere meaning to write. A postscript especially refers to a note added after the signature of a letter. In this use, it's often abbreviated as P.S. A mother's favorite thing might be getting a letter from her kid at camp that says, "I love you, Mom," especially if there is a postscript adding hugs and kisses, written this way: "P.S. XOXOXOXOX."
Keep Reading on Vocabulary.comVocabulary lists containing postscript
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
postscript PostScript postscripts
In a postscript, Mr. Bailey calls “Muriel Spark” a “roadmap of Spark’s life” to which he referred frequently in writing his own book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
In a postscript to a later edition of his book “The Intelligent Investor,” Graham reflected on the debt his lifetime track record owed to just one company — Geico.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
But there are some indications that this particular release will be a farewell postscript for Alito’s service.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
There is no postscript to tell viewers what happened to Gibson after the scandal blew up, or whether she faced any consequences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
At the bottom of the message, I added a short postscript: PS—I think you look even more beautiful in real life.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The PDF, although not adopted as quickly as PostScript, eventually became standard, as the ease of sharing crisp, accurate documents across computer systems made the long-envisioned paperless office a reality.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
Its printer, the LaserWriter, offered the next year, was based on PostScript and built in partnership with Adobe.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2021
When Xerox executives decided not to release Interpress, a precursor to PostScript, Dr. Geschke and Warnock decided to quit and develop a version of the computer language on their own.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2021
Their first product was Adobe PostScript, the programming language that helped boost the desktop publishing industry.
From The Verge ● Apr. 18, 2021
A more complicated example is man -k PostScript.
From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by John Goerzen
Chinese movie bloggers pointed out the added postscripts in social media posts, drawing varying reactions.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
Crisis comes when Pearson falls in love with Baffin’s daughter, Julian, in a thicket-like narrative that presents itself as a story within a story, complete with postscripts from the leading players.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2019
On her second album, the Nashville-based Lunsford rarely rests, kicking off the first couple of cuts and punctuating others with wordless but entertaining postscripts.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 28, 2016
Clarkson's 25 points, including four-for-six accuracy from three-point range, became postscripts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2016
Amy’s face was full of trouble, but she only said, “Don’t people put sort of postscripts to their wills, sometimes?”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.