poster

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A large printed sheet with pictures or words, put on a wall or public place to advertise or decorate.

   Grammar: Countable: a poster, two posters. Often used with 'on' or 'of': a poster on the wall, a poster of a film.

   Patterns

   • a poster of something
   • put up a poster
   • a poster on the wall
   • a poster advertising something

   She put a poster of her favorite band on her bedroom wall.

   The school printed posters to advertise the science fair.

   We saw a poster for the new museum exhibition at the bus stop.

2. 2nouncountablecomputinginformal

   Someone who posts messages or pictures on the internet, especially in a forum or on social media.

   Grammar: Countable; often used with 'anonymous' or 'frequent'.

   Patterns

   • an anonymous poster
   • a frequent poster
   • a poster on a forum

   An anonymous poster shared the news on the forum.

   The most frequent poster on the site is a retired teacher.

   Moderators can remove comments made by any poster.

3. 3nounsingularfigurative

   A person or thing that is a perfect example of a quality or situation, especially a bad one.

   Grammar: Used in the phrase 'poster child' or 'poster boy/girl' for someone or something that represents a cause or problem.

   Patterns

   • a poster child for something
   • the poster boy for something
   • the poster girl for something

   The old factory became a poster child for industrial decline.

   He is the poster boy for healthy living.

   That failed project is now a poster child for poor planning.

Word forms

Common combinations

put up a poster

They put up posters all over town for the concert.

a poster campaign

The health department ran a poster campaign about hand washing.

a movie poster

He collects original movie posters from the 1970s.

a wanted poster

The sheriff nailed a wanted poster to the wall.

a poster child for

The new library became a poster child for successful community funding.

Synonyms and how they differ

bill

A printed notice advertising something, often smaller and more official than a poster.

placard

A sign carried in a protest or displayed in a public place, usually stiff and held by hand.

banner

A long strip of cloth or paper with a message, often hung across a street or at an event.

Word family

post verb

To put a notice or message on a wall or online.

posting noun

A message or picture put online.

Commonly confused: poster or posture?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “poster”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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