posterity

American  

[po-ster-i-tee] / pɒˈstɛr ɪ ti /

noun

1. succeeding or future generations collectively.

   Judgment of this age must be left to posterity.

2. all descendants of one person.

   His fortune was gradually dissipated by his posterity.

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posterity British  

/ pɒˈstɛrɪtɪ /

noun

1. future or succeeding generations

2. all of one's descendants

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Etymology

Origin of posterity

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English posterite, from Old French postérité, from Latin posteritāt-, stem of posteritās, noun derivative of posterus “coming after”; posterior, -ity

Example Sentences

“It gives us a sense of how Elizabethans recorded music for posterity; how they could relive a musical experience.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

When Deffand was asked to contribute her letters to Voltaire to a posthumous edition of his correspondence, she refused; she did not want to give posterity “any occasion for myself to be spoken of.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

But praise was poured upon the humble pint's place in the nation's history, cultural life and language, and the government moved to ensure the measurement was preserved for posterity.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

The audience was breathless not only with excitement but with phone activity recording the encounter for digital posterity.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

Very little is known about his life, but among the works he left for posterity there was a great summary of astronomy, based on 500 years of Greek astronomical and cosmological thinking.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin