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• postscript
  postscript

  noun

  a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.
• PostScript
  PostScript

  a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.

postscript

¹ American  

[pohst-skript, pohs-] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs- /

noun

• postscripts
  plural

1. a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.

2. any addition or supplement, as one appended by a writer to a book to supply further information.

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PostScript ² American  

[pohst-skript, pohs-] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs- /

Trademark.

1. a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.

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postscript British  

/ ˈpəʊsˌskrɪpt, ˈpəʊst- /

noun

1. a message added at the end of a letter, after the signature

2. any supplement, as to a document or book

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subpostscript
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• postscripts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of postscript

1515–25; < Latin postscrīptum, neuter past participle of postscrībere to write after

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

postscript PostScript postscripts

“I find it heartbreaking that her self-esteem was allowed to sink so low. It is the postscript, for me, of her being failed by such an inadequate and amateur education.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

The controversy around Ms Dzafce is a postscript to a chaotic Miss Universe pageant hosted in Thailand that had been hounded by walkouts and allegations of rigging.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

There was also a postscript to this effect:

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

PostScript, the company’s first piece of software, let computer users print documents just as they appeared on-screen, with graphics and multiple fonts — a task that previously required a trip to a local printing press.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023

Its printer, the LaserWriter, offered the next year, was based on PostScript and built in partnership with Adobe.

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

In this case, PostScript is the word you want man to search for.

From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by John Goerzen

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

Clarkson's 25 points, including four-for-six accuracy from three-point range, became postscripts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2016

Two brief pieces for classical guitar were his postscripts: skittery, pointillistic, whirlwind sketches.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2014

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

Related Words

• appendix
• footnote