Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

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

There is no postscript to tell viewers what happened to Gibson after the scandal blew up, or whether she faced any consequences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 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

The talk does not turn into a fight, and Dorus writes a postscript to Theo the next day.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

The PDF, although not adopted as quickly as PostScript, eventually became standard, as the ease of sharing crisp, accurate documents across computer systems made the long-envisioned paperless office a reality.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2023

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

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

Then it has an option or switch, -k, followed by an argument, PostScript.

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

The solution: Add individual postscripts about the characters, a series of them, interspersed with the credits at the end.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2022

His relationship with Jackson, who sometimes added his own postscripts to Merrill’s letters, endured from the early 1950s until the poet’s death.

From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 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

Forewords, prefaces and afterwords rank squarely among literature’s stepchildren — above marginalia and non-David Foster Wallace footnotes perhaps but below prologues and postscripts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2019

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