Meaning & use
key post
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Meaning
nouncountable
an important job or position in an organization, especially one with responsibility or influence
Grammar: Countable: a key post, several key posts. Often used with verbs like hold, fill, take, or leave.
Patterns
- hold a key post
- fill a key post
- a key post in something
- be appointed to a key post
After ten years with the company, she was offered a key post in the marketing department.
The government has several key posts that are still vacant.
He held a key post at the bank before he retired.
Word forms
| plural | key posts |
|---|
Common combinations
- hold a key post
- She held a key post in the finance ministry for six years.
- fill a key post
- The company is struggling to fill a key post in its research division.
- a key post in
- He was given a key post in the new administration.
- take up a key post
- She will take up a key post at the university next month.
Synonyms and how they differ
- key position
- Very similar, but 'position' is more general and can also mean a physical location; 'post' usually refers only to a job.
- senior post
- Focuses on rank rather than importance; a senior post is high in the hierarchy, while a key post is important to the organization's success.
- top job
- More informal and often suggests the most important job; 'key post' can be important without being the very top.
Word family
Commonly confused: key post or key position?
key post vs key position
'Key position' is more common in American English and can also mean a physical place; 'key post' is more common in British English for a job.
Practice
The company is looking for someone to ______ a key post in its overseas office.
Choose one answer.
'Fill a key post' is the natural collocation meaning to take or appoint someone to the job. 'Make', 'do', and 'put' do not collocate with 'post' in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “key post”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.