Post vs. Bollard: What's the Difference?
By Harlon Moss & Janet White || Updated on May 22, 2024
A post is a vertical pole used for various purposes such as supporting structures or signage, while a bollard is a short, sturdy post primarily used to control or direct road traffic and protect areas from vehicles.
Key Differences
A post is a versatile vertical pole used in different contexts like construction, signage, or fencing. It can be made from various materials including wood, metal, or concrete. A bollard, on the other hand, is a short, robust post designed mainly for traffic control and security purposes. Bollards are often installed to restrict vehicle access, safeguard pedestrians, or protect buildings and infrastructure from accidental collisions.
Posts are generally taller and can be used to hold signs, support lights, or create barriers in fields and urban areas. Whereas bollards are shorter and specifically installed to manage traffic flow, prevent vehicle intrusion, and enhance safety in public spaces.
In construction, posts might be embedded in the ground to support structures like fences, decks, or even temporary setups like tents. Bollards, however, are more focused on ensuring that vehicles stay within designated paths and do not encroach into pedestrian zones or sensitive areas.
Posts serve a broader range of functions and can be seen in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. Bollards, with their specialized use, are primarily found in urban environments, parking lots, and around critical infrastructure to ensure safety and order.
Comparison Chart
Primary Use
Support and structure
Traffic control and security
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Typical Height
Taller, varies
Shorter, usually under 4 feet
Common Materials
Wood, metal, concrete
Steel, concrete
Installation Locations
Construction sites, fields
Urban areas, parking lots
Main Function
Support structures/signage
Restrict vehicle access
Post and Bollard Definitions
Post
A pole for displaying signs or lights.
The streetlight was mounted on a metal post.
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Bollard
A short, sturdy post for traffic control.
Bollards were placed along the sidewalk to prevent parking.
Post
A vertical structure used in construction.
The deck was held up by several sturdy posts.
Bollard
A fixed barrier to prevent vehicle access.
Removable bollards were installed at the park entrance.
Post
A pole embedded in the ground for various uses.
The mailbox was attached to a wooden post.
Bollard
A post used to protect pedestrians and buildings.
The bollards outside the store stopped cars from driving too close.
Post
A long piece of wood or other material set upright into the ground to serve as a marker or support.
Bollard
A security feature for sensitive areas.
Bollards were installed around the embassy for added protection.
Post
A support for a beam in the framework of a building.
Bollard
(Nautical) A thick post on a ship or wharf, used for securing ropes and hawsers.
Post
A terminal of a battery.
Bollard
One of a series of posts preventing vehicles from entering an area.
Post
(Sports) A goal post.
Bollard
A projecting bulge of snow or ice used as an anchor for a rope in mountaineering.
Post
The starting point at a racetrack.
Bollard
(nautical) A strong vertical post of timber or iron, fixed to the ground and/or on the deck of a ship, to which the ship's mooring lines etc are secured.
Post
The slender barlike part of a stud earring that passes through the ear and is secured at the back with a small cap or clip.
Bollard
A similar post preventing vehicle access to a pedestrian area, to delineate traffic lanes, or used for security purposes.
Post
An electronic message sent to and displayed on an online forum
Ignored several inflammatory posts.
Bollard
An upright wooden or iron post in a boat or on a dock, used in veering or fastening ropes.
Post
A military base.
Bollard
A strong post (as on a wharf or quay or ship for attaching mooring lines);
The road was closed to vehicular traffic with bollards
Post
The grounds and buildings of a military base.
Bollard
A post designed to withstand impacts.
The steel bollard protected the storefront from runaway vehicles.
Post
A local organization of military veterans.
Post
Either of two bugle calls in the British Army, sounded in the evening as a signal to retire to quarters.
Post
An assigned position or station, as of a guard or sentry.
Post
(Basketball) A position usually taken by the center close to the basket or below the foul line, serving as the focus of the team's offense.
Post
A position of employment, especially an appointed public office.
Post
A place to which someone is assigned for duty.
Post
A trading post.
Post
A postal system.
Post
A post office.
Post
A delivery or amount of mail
Waiting for the morning's post to arrive.
Post
One of a series of relay stations along a fixed route, furnishing fresh riders and horses for the delivery of mail on horseback.
Post
A rider on such a mail route; a courier.
Post
To display (an announcement) in a place of public view.
Post
To cover (a wall, for example) with posters.
Post
To announce by or as if by posters
Post banns.
Post
(Computers) To make (an electronic message) available by sending it to an online forum
Posted a response to a question about car engines.
Post
To put up signs on (property) warning against trespassing.
Post
To denounce publicly
Post a man as a thief.
Post
To publish (a name) on a list.
Post
(Games) To gain (points or a point) in a game or contest; score.
Post
To assign to a specific position or station
Post a sentry at the gate.
Post
To appoint to a naval or military command.
Post
To put forward; present
Post bail.
Post
Chiefly British To mail (a letter or package).
Post
(Archaic) To send by mail in a system of relays on horseback.
Post
To inform of the latest news
Keep us posted.
Post
To transfer (an item) to a ledger in bookkeeping.
Post
To make the necessary entries in (a ledger).
Post
(Computers) To enter (a unit of information) on a record or into a section of storage.
Post
To travel in stages or relays.
Post
To travel with speed or in haste.
Post
To bob up and down in the saddle in rhythm with a horse's trotting gait.
Post
With great speed; rapidly.
Post
By post horse.
Post
A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fencepost; a lightpost.
Ram a post into the ground
Post
(construction) A stud; a two-by-four.
Post
A pole in a battery.
Post
(dentistry) A long, narrow piece inserted into a root canal to provide retention for a crown.
Post
A prolonged final melody note, among moving harmony notes.
Post
A printing paper size measuring 19.25 inches x 15.5 inches.
Post
(sports) A goalpost.
Post
A location on a basketball court near the basket.
Post
(obsolete) The doorpost of a victualler's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
Post
The vertical part of a crochet stitch.
Post
(obsolete) Each of a series of men stationed at specific places along a postroad, with responsibility for relaying letters and dispatches of the monarch (and later others) along the route.
Post
(dated) A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travellers on some recognized route.
A stage or railway post
Post
A military base; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station.
Post
Someone who travels express along a set route carrying letters and dispatches; a courier.
Post
An organisation for delivering letters, parcels etc., or the service provided by such an organisation.
Sent via post; parcel post
Post
A single delivery of letters; the letters or deliveries that make up a single batch delivered to one person or one address.
Post
A message posted in an electronic or Internet forum, or on a blog, etc.
Post
(American football) A moderate to deep passing route in which a receiver runs 10-20 yards from the line of scrimmage straight down the field, then cuts toward the middle of the field (towards the facing goalposts) at a 45-degree angle.
Two of the receivers ran post patterns.
Post
(obsolete) Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.
Post
(obsolete) One who has charge of a station, especially a postal station.
Post
An assigned station; a guard post.
Post
An appointed position in an organization, job.
Post
Post-production.
We'll fix it in post
Post
A post mortem investigation of body's cause of death.
Post
(transitive) To hang (a notice) in a conspicuous manner for general review.
Post no bills.
Post
To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation.
To post someone for cowardice
Post
(accounting) To carry (an account) from the journal to the ledger.
Post
To inform; to give the news to; to make acquainted with the details of a subject; often with up.
Post
To pay down (the stake).
Post
To pay (a blind).
Since Jim was new to the game, he had to post $4 in order to receive a hand.
Post
To travel with relays of horses; to travel by post horses, originally as a courier.
Post
To travel quickly; to hurry.
Post
To send (an item of mail etc.) through the postal service.
Mail items posted before 7.00pm within the Central Business District and before 5.00pm outside the Central Business District will be delivered the next working day.
Post
(horse-riding) To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, especially in trotting.
Post
(Internet) To publish (a message) to a newsgroup, forum, blog, etc.
I couldn't figure it out, so I posted a question on the mailing list.
Post
To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, etc.
Post
To assign to a station; to set; to place.
Post a sentinel in front of the door.
Post
With the post, on post-horses; by a relay of horses (changing at every staging-post); hence, express, with speed, quickly.
Post
Sent via the postal service.
Post
After; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications.
Post
Hired to do what is wrong; suborned.
Post
A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed, or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially when intended as a stay or support to something else; a pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a house.
They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses.
Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders bore,The gates of Azza, post and massy bar.
Unto his order he was a noble post.
Post
The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
When God sends coinI will discharge your post.
Post
The place at which anything is stopped, placed, or fixed; a station.
Post
A messenger who goes from station; an express; especially, one who is employed by the government to carry letters and parcels regularly from one place to another; a letter carrier; a postman.
In certain places there be always fresh posts, to carry that further which is brought unto them by the other.
I fear my Julia would not deign my lines,Receiving them from such a worthless post.
Post
An established conveyance for letters from one place or station to another; especially, the governmental system in any country for carrying and distributing letters and parcels; the post office; the mail; hence, the carriage by which the mail is transported.
I send you the fair copy of the poem on dullness, which I should not care to hazard by the common post.
Post
Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.
Post
One who has charge of a station, especially of a postal station.
He held office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post, for several years.
Post
A station, office, or position of service, trust, or emolument; as, the post of duty; the post of danger.
The post of honor is a private station.
Post
A size of printing and writing paper. See the Table under Paper.
Post
To attach to a post, a wall, or other usual place of affixing public notices; to placard; as, to post a notice; to post playbills.
Post
To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation; as, to post one for cowardice.
On pain of being posted to your sorrowFail not, at four, to meet me.
Post
To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, or the like.
Post
To assign to a station; to set; to place; as, to post a sentinel.
Post
To carry, as an account, from the journal to the ledger; as, to post an account; to transfer, as accounts, to the ledger.
You have not posted your books these ten years.
Post
To place in the care of the post; to mail; as, to post a letter.
Post
To inform; to give the news to; to make (one) acquainted with the details of a subject; - often with up.
Thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day.
Post
To travel with post horses; figuratively, to travel in haste.
And post o'er land and ocean without rest.
Post
To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, esp. in trotting.
Post
With post horses; hence, in haste; as, to travel post.
Post
The position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand;
A soldier manned the entrance post
A sentry station
Post
Military installation at which a body of troops is stationed;
This military post provides an important source of income for the town nearby
There is an officer's club on the post
Post
A job in an organization;
He occupied a post in the treasury
Post
An upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position;
He set a row of posts in the ground and strung barbwire between them
Post
United States aviator who in 1933 made the first solo flight around the world (1899-1935)
Post
United States female author who wrote a book and a syndicated newspaper column on etiquette (1872-1960)
Post
United States manufacturer of breakfast cereals and Postum (1854-1914)
Post
Any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered;
Your mail is on the table
Is there any post for me?
She was opening her post
Post
A pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track);
A pair of posts marked the goal
The corner of the lot was indicated by a stake
Post
The system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office;
The mail handles billions of items every day
He works for the United States mail service
In England they call mail `the post'
Post
The delivery and collection of letters and packages;
It came by the first post
If you hurry you'll catch the post
Post
Affix in a public place or for public notice;
Post a warning
Post
Publicize with, or as if with, a poster;
I'll post the news on the bulletin board
Post
Assign to a post; put into a post;
The newspaper posted him in Timbuktu
Post
Assign to a station
Post
Display, as of records in sports games
Post
Enter on a public list
Post
Transfer (entries) from one account book to another
Post
Ride Western style and bob up and down in the saddle in in rhythm with a horse's trotting gait
Post
Mark with a stake;
Stake out the path
Post
Put up;
Post a sign
Post a warning at the dump
Post
Cause to be directed or transmitted to another place;
Send me your latest results
I'll mail you the paper when it's written
Post
Mark or expose as infamous;
She was branded a loose woman
Post
A vertical pole used to support structures.
The wooden post supported the fence.
Post
A structural element for stability.
The building's porch had decorative posts.
FAQs
What is the main difference between a post and a bollard?
A post is generally taller and used for support or displaying items, while a bollard is shorter and primarily used for traffic control and security.
Are bollards permanent installations?
Bollards can be permanent or removable, depending on the need for flexibility in access control.
What materials are commonly used for posts?
Posts are often made from wood, metal, or concrete.
Where are bollards commonly installed?
Bollards are commonly found in urban areas, parking lots, and around important buildings for safety.
What are decorative bollards?
Decorative bollards are designed to be visually appealing while still providing safety and security.
Can a post be used as a bollard?
While possible, posts are typically not designed to withstand vehicle impacts like bollards are.
Do posts have height restrictions?
Posts can vary in height depending on their purpose, from short garden stakes to tall light poles.
Can posts be used in temporary structures?
Yes, posts are frequently used in temporary structures like tents and event setups.
Are bollards used for pedestrian safety?
Yes, bollards are often installed to protect pedestrians from vehicle traffic.
What is a fixed bollard?
A fixed bollard is permanently installed and not intended to be moved.
Can posts be decorative?
Yes, posts can be both functional and decorative, often seen in garden landscapes.
How are posts installed?
Posts are usually embedded into the ground with concrete for stability.
What is a bollard cover?
A bollard cover is a sleeve placed over a bollard for aesthetic purposes or additional protection.
What kind of maintenance do posts require?
Maintenance depends on the material; wood posts may need painting or sealing, while metal posts might need rust prevention.
Are there different types of bollards?
Yes, there are various types including fixed, removable, and retractable bollards.
Do bollards provide visual guidance?
Yes, bollards can help guide traffic and indicate boundaries.
Are bollards used indoors?
Yes, bollards can be used indoors in warehouses or commercial buildings for safety.
Can posts support heavy loads?
Yes, posts can be designed to support heavy loads, such as in construction.
What is the environmental impact of bollards?
Bollards have minimal environmental impact, but materials and installation methods can vary.
What is the purpose of a retractable bollard?
Retractable bollards can be lowered to allow temporary vehicle access.
About Author
Written by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
Co-written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
