Meaning
To continuously provide someone with updated news or information as it develops.
It’s often used as a request or promise about ongoing communication, implying more than a single, final update — a stream of information over time.
Origin
The phrase draws on the 18th-century meaning of “post” as a courier or mail carrier: to “post” someone meant to send them regular news by letter, the way a postal courier delivered correspondence at set intervals. This sense of steady, repeated delivery of information is exactly what the modern idiom preserves, even though the literal courier system behind it has long since disappeared. An 1867 U.S. House of Representatives report already uses the expression in its modern figurative sense, showing the phrase was firmly established in ordinary use by the mid-19th century, well before the postal system it references had fully modernized.
Examples
Keep me posted on how the meeting goes.
She kept the team posted throughout the negotiation.
Please keep us posted about any changes.
A: “I’ll let you know once I hear back.” B: “Please keep me posted.”
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Keep someone posted' mean?
To continuously provide someone with updated news or information as it develops.
It’s often used as a request or promise about ongoing communication, implying more than a single, final update — a stream of information over time.