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Synonyms

posh

1 American  
[posh] / pɒʃ /

adjective

  1. sumptuously furnished or appointed; luxurious.

    a posh apartment.
posh 2 American  
[posh] / pɒʃ /

interjection

  1. (used as an exclamation of contempt or disgust.)

posh British  
/ pɒʃ /

adjective

  1. smart, elegant, or fashionable; exclusive

    posh clothes

  2. upper-class or genteel

"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

adverb

  1. in a manner associated with the upper class

    to talk posh
"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

Usage

What else does posh mean? The adjective posh means that something or someone is rich, fancy, or otherwise smells of money.

Other Word Forms

  • poshness noun

Etymology

Origin of posh1

1915–20; of obscure origin; compare posh a dandy (recorded as British slang in 1890); the popular notion that the word is an acronym from port out(ward) , starboard home, said to be the preferred accommodation on ships traveling between England and India, is without foundation

Origin of posh2

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And unlike the posh boutiques and flagship international stores that dot that premier North Michigan Avenue address, this street runs through a predominantly Hispanic neighbourhood.

From BBC

There is no war here yet and everything feels quite posh.

From Literature

"You get their posh voice, their telephone voice, they're quite grown up."

From BBC

I replied that I’d heard rumors that Park City calculated there was more money in catering to the posh ski crowd than, say, film critics.

From Los Angeles Times

"My baby son has been having the poshest baths - six bottles of mineral water and two kettles," he said.

From BBC

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.