posterity
Americannoun
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succeeding or future generations collectively.
Judgment of this age must be left to posterity.
-
all descendants of one person.
His fortune was gradually dissipated by his posterity.
noun
-
future or succeeding generations
-
all of one's descendants
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The reason is that the sport’s fancy new automated ball-strike system couldn’t function without it—which means that the days of players embellishing their heights for posterity are officially over.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
“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
"That's the nice thing about research results – it might happen in five, 150, 500 years time. This research is there for posterity and I'm confident that smart people will use them in the future."
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
President Emmanuel Macron inside the Pantheon said Badinter's voice would ring out in posterity.
From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025
She breathed deep, and bottled it up for posterity.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
