posh

¹

[posh]

adjective

1. sumptuously furnished or appointed; luxurious.

   a posh apartment.

posh

²

[posh]

interjection

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

posh

/ pɒʃ /

adjective

1. smart, elegant, or fashionable; exclusive

   posh clothes

2. upper-class or genteel

adverb

1. in a manner associated with the upper class

   to talk posh

Other Word Forms

• poshness noun

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of posh¹

C19: often said to be an acronym of the phrase port out, starboard home, the most desirable location for a cabin in British ships sailing to and from the East, being the north-facing or shaded side; but more likely to be a development of obsolete slang posh a dandy

Example Sentences

The display in posh Kingston upon Thames in southwest London at first glance seems to depict a jolly crowd enjoying the festive season.

Read more on Barron's

He’s a good pick to direct this adaptation of Freida McFadden’s dark and pleasingly pulpy bestseller about a maid who moves into a family’s posh home and makes a major mess.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Members of the groups are also suspected to be behind attacks perpetrated earlier this year on Marks & Spencer and other U.K. retailers, including posh department store Harrods.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“In Europa, you perform the same concert and the response is much more, how you say, restrained. In England it is”—he imitates a posh English accent—“ ‘That was really lovely, you know.’

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This fall, he’s heading off on a European tour he’s calling The Gap Year, a reference to the posh tradition of graduates taking time off to travel the world before starting college.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chic 
• classy 
• deluxe 
• elegant 
• exclusive 
• fashionable 
• grand 
• high-class 
• luxury 
• opulent 
• ritzy 
• swank 
• swanky 
• trendy 

When To Use

What else does posh mean?

The adjective posh means that something or someone is rich, fancy, or otherwise smells of money.