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.
a message added at the end of a letter, after the signature
any supplement, as to a document or book
1515–25; < Latin postscrīptum, neuter past participle of postscrībere to write after
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Losing Sesko would be an unhappy postscript to a very strange game.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
Still, in the book’s postscript, McMaster hopes “that young people who have persevered through these pages will conclude that, even under challenging circumstances, there are tremendous rewards associated with service under any administration.”
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2024
It’s another note on blue-green construction paper, and it starts with a postscript.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
They founded Adobe in 1982 and created PostScript, a program that helped make small-scale printing feasible for the first time.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2023
In 1983, Apple agreed to license their technology called PostScript.
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
Hackers consider PostScript to be among the most elegant hacks of all time, and the combination of technical merits and widespread availability has made PostScript the language of choice for graphical output. :pound on: vt.
From The Jargon File, Version 2.9.10, 01 Jul 1992 by Raymond, Eric S.
But others have gone on to lead lives that are postscripts to Sept. 11, 2001.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2021
But the track’s last spoken-word postscripts are grown-up and businesslike; they involve copyrights.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2021
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
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.
