posterior
Americanadjective
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situated behind or at the rear of; hinder (anterior ).
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coming after in order, as in a series.
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coming after in time; later; subsequent (sometimes followed byto ).
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Anatomy, Zoology.
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(in quadrupeds) pertaining to or toward the rear or caudal end of the body.
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(in humans and other primates) pertaining to or toward the back plane of the body, equivalent to the dorsal surface of quadrupeds.
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Botany. toward the back and near the main axis, as the upper lip of a flower.
noun
adjective
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situated at the back of or behind something
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coming after or following another in a series
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coming after in time
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zoology (of animals) of or near the hind end
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botany (of a flower) situated nearest to the main stem
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anatomy dorsal or towards the spine
noun
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the buttocks; rump
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statistics a posterior probability
Related Words
See back 1.
Other Word Forms
- posteriorly adverb
Etymology
Origin of posterior
1525–35; < Latin, comparative of posterus coming after, derivative of post after
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.
Scientists have long proposed, including Sur's colleague Earl K. Miller at MIT, that the prefrontal cortex can guide the activity of more posterior areas of the brain.
From Science Daily
When strength training later in life, more attention must be paid to building strength around the joints, Herbert says, and strengthening the posterior, or back, chain of the body.
From Los Angeles Times
As a parent, the first time I saw one of my sons talk out of their posterior on a subject they knew nothing about, I laughed.
From Salon
Research has shown that the premotor and posterior parietal cortices, along with the temporoparietal junction, are active in the brain when we are locating or thinking about ourselves.
From Salon
Brown: Posterior chain is everything up and down the backside of your body and the posterior.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
