posse

Definition

A group or company of people, originally especially one having hostile intent; a throng, a crowd.

Etymology

Ellipsis of posse comitatus.

Example Sentences

• "It is traditional in America to criticize the schools; for more than a century, parents, self-styled experts, and educators themselves have attacked and indicted the educational system. No aspect of schooling has been more severely criticized than reading instruction. The current books have a long ancestry, and every innovation carries in its train a posse of suspicious and, one feels, unpersuadable observers."
• "He […] no sooner set his nose within the room to which he was directed, than the constable and his posse sprung upon him, before he had the least intimation of his design, or any opportunity of acting in his own defence."
• "Mathews then appointed Morton as a deputy sheriff and after a posse had been selected, they went in pursuit of the criminals. Within a few hours, the posse overtook the thieves."