Meaning & use
post bail
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
To pay money to a court so that an accused person can leave jail until their trial.
Grammar: A verb phrase; it takes an object like 'bail' or 'the money', and the person can be added with 'for': post bail for someone.
Patterns
- post bail
- post bail for someone
- post bail of $10,000
His family posted bail and he was released the same evening.
She had to post bail of $5,000 before leaving the police station.
A friend posted bail for him while he waited for his court date.
Common combinations
- post bail for someone
- His brother posted bail for him after the hearing.
- post bail of $10,000
- The court required him to post bail of $10,000.
- be released on bail
- She was released on bail until the trial.
- set bail
- The judge set bail at $20,000.
Synonyms and how they differ
- put up bail
- Very close in meaning; 'put up bail' is slightly more informal and often used for the money itself.
- pay bail
- Similar, but 'pay bail' focuses on the money, while 'post bail' is the standard legal phrase for the whole action.
Word family
Commonly confused: post bail or bail?
post bail vs bail
'Bail' is the money or the legal arrangement; 'post bail' is the action of paying it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'post bail' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct pattern is 'post bail for someone'. The other prepositions do not fit this fixed legal phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “post bail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.