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
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 Web
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2025
In addition to Neftalí and her bandmates, there is her mother, who appears as a ghost, and her mother’s former lover Bettina, who helped instill Neftalí’s love of books.
—David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Oh, Bridget, welcome to the very 2020s phenomenon known as ghosting.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghost
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Noun
In the epic fifth and final season, Joe Goldberg returns to New York to enjoy his happily ever after… until his perfect life is threatened by the ghosts of his past and his own dark desires.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2025
In addition to Neftalí and her bandmates, there is her mother, who appears as a ghost, and her mother’s former lover Bettina, who helped instill Neftalí’s love of books.
—David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
Employers have been ghosting candidates for decades.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Oh, Bridget, welcome to the very 2020s phenomenon known as ghosting.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghost
Cite this Entry
“Ghost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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