plural ghosts
1
: the seat of life or intelligence : soul
give up the ghost
2
: a disembodied soul
especially
: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness
4
a
: a faint shadowy trace
a ghost of a smile
b
: the least bit
not a ghost of a chance
5
: a false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection
6
: one who ghostwrites
7
: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
ghosted; ghosting; ghosts
1
: to haunt like a ghost
2
: ghostwrite
ghosted the mayor's autobiography
3
informal
: to cut off all contact with (someone) abruptly and usually without explanation : to subject (someone, such as a former romantic partner) to ghosting see ghosting sense 2
No one wants to be ghosted, mostly because it sucks to admit that the person you gushed about last week is now pretending you don't exist …—
Ellen Scott
Ellen Scott1
a
: to move silently like a ghost
b
: to sail quietly in light winds
2
Synonyms
Examples of ghost in a Sentence
Noun
a house haunted by ghosts
looked for ghosts in the graveyard on Halloween
Verb
She ghosted the mayor's autobiography.
Recent Examples on the WebScott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
Luigi's Mansion 2 will revolve around Luigi defeating King Boo once again while collecting shards of the Dark Moon to restore peace to the ghosts of Evershade Valley.
—The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Starting today, Vision Pro personas will be able to do more than hover like a ghost in FaceTime calls.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 2 Apr. 2024
This awestruck fervor was a little too much, given that, in the source material, Aykroyd famously dreams about being fellated by a ghost and Murray spends nearly every minute on-screen rolling his eyes.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2024
Once inside, things become notably less Mouse-inspired with no happy haunts boisterously singing or ghost hosts to be found.
—Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2024
Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee lists claims of sightings of several ghosts — including the apparitions of a young 19th-century brewery worker and his sweetheart.
—Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
Morris portrays Saul, a poltergeist eternally tethered to one person, unlike the ghosts of the Woodstone Bed and Breakfast, who are bound to the property.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2024
In New York, after Yankee stadium was deserted, the ghosts and legends of The House that Ruth Built had only to look out for traffic, then float across the street to get back to their haunting.
—Ellen Murphy, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Nick Rockel, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Ghosting is rude—which means ghosting a restaurant is also rude.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 29 Feb. 2024
Lastly, unequal power dynamics between recruiters or hiring managers and candidates can contribute to ghosting, as some might feel less obligated to provide explanations.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
Some threads the series takes up are new: Getting ghosted after confessing his feelings to someone.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
The thriller series follows a schoolteacher who goes on a journey to find a man who ghosted her after a Tinder date, and Barris serves as executive producer alongside the creator of the show, Diarra Kilpatrick.
—Nathan Vinson, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
With the rise of online dating and social media, ghosting has become a common experience for many people.
—Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
In a 2021 Indeed survey, 77% of job applicants said they have been ghosted by a prospective employer.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
The financial pressure for medical practices to keep patients from ghosting them is a major factor.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
Noun
The drama stars Chiara Mastroianni playing alongside her mother Catherine Deneuve and off the ghost of her father, Italian acting legend Marcello Mastroianni.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
Luigi's Mansion 2 will revolve around Luigi defeating King Boo once again while collecting shards of the Dark Moon to restore peace to the ghosts of Evershade Valley.
—The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Starting today, Vision Pro personas will be able to do more than hover like a ghost in FaceTime calls.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 2 Apr. 2024
This awestruck fervor was a little too much, given that, in the source material, Aykroyd famously dreams about being fellated by a ghost and Murray spends nearly every minute on-screen rolling his eyes.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2024
Once inside, things become notably less Mouse-inspired with no happy haunts boisterously singing or ghost hosts to be found.
—Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 29 Mar. 2024
Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee lists claims of sightings of several ghosts — including the apparitions of a young 19th-century brewery worker and his sweetheart.
—Chris Foran, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
Morris portrays Saul, a poltergeist eternally tethered to one person, unlike the ghosts of the Woodstone Bed and Breakfast, who are bound to the property.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2024
In New York, after Yankee stadium was deserted, the ghosts and legends of The House that Ruth Built had only to look out for traffic, then float across the street to get back to their haunting.
—Ellen Murphy, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
But the benefits that Kim highlights offer some compelling reasons not to ghost them.
—Nick Rockel, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Ghosting is rude—which means ghosting a restaurant is also rude.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 29 Feb. 2024
Lastly, unequal power dynamics between recruiters or hiring managers and candidates can contribute to ghosting, as some might feel less obligated to provide explanations.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
Some threads the series takes up are new: Getting ghosted after confessing his feelings to someone.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
The thriller series follows a schoolteacher who goes on a journey to find a man who ghosted her after a Tinder date, and Barris serves as executive producer alongside the creator of the show, Diarra Kilpatrick.
—Nathan Vinson, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
With the rise of online dating and social media, ghosting has become a common experience for many people.
—Kailyn Brown, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
In a 2021 Indeed survey, 77% of job applicants said they have been ghosted by a prospective employer.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
The financial pressure for medical practices to keep patients from ghosting them is a major factor.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ghost.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English gost, gast, from Old English gāst; akin to Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit heḍa anger
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
circa 1616, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of ghost was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing ghost
Dictionary Entries Near ghost
Cite this Entry
“Ghost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
ghost
nounˈgōst
: the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as appearing to living people
Medical Definition
ghost
noun
: a structure (as a cell or tissue) that does not stain normally because of degenerative changes
specifically
: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
More from Merriam-Webster on ghost
Nglish: Translation of ghost for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of ghost for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ghost
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