host

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈhōst 

plural hosts

1

a

: a person who receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially

Ourself will mingle with society / And play the humble host.

—William Shakespeare

… another blog disclosed that he [John Edwards] had been the host of an off-the-record dinner with several bloggers at his house in Washington.

—Time

On Thursday night, [Dawn] Staley will be the host at a black tie fundraising dinner for her foundation in suburban Philadelphia.

—The New York Times

… the Inn at Little Washington has become one of America's premier dining destinations, a cozy world of casual luxury and terrific American food created by chef Patrick O'Connell and host Reinhardt Lynch.

—Thomas Matthews

b

: a place or organization that provides facilities and services for an event or function

The night before he scored 18 points and got 18 rebounds to help Winthrop beat host UNC-Asheville 75-62.

—Seth Davis

For the pleasure of visitors who like to combine running and jumping with more intellectual pursuits, Olympic hosts have traditionally set forth a generous display of cultural events. Seoul came up to snuff.

—E. J. Kahn, Jr.

c

: a country, government, etc. that agrees to allow an outside business, organization, group of people, etc. to operate, function, or live within its boundaries, jurisdiction, or population

—often used before another noun

In short, the problem is that the interests of a large multinational company may not be coincident with the development interests of the host countries.

—E. S. Simpson

… when a United States service member commits an offense within a foreign country, should the accused be tried in a court-martial or in a court of the host country?

—Charles A. Shanor and Timothy P. Terrell

Although the guest workers were distinct—in the sense that they were initially expected to go home and not be absorbed into the host society—in practice, many have stayed and thereby contributed to the ethnic diversity of Europe.

—Michael Chisholm

2

a

biology : a living organism on or in which a parasite lives

… a single-celled protozoan parasite that is able to sexually reproduce in only one host—cats.

—Erin Tomb

… the parasite larvae develop inside each bee, rapidly consuming their host from the inside out.

—Paul Schmid-Hempel

Cryptosporidium is an enteric parasite of emerging importance in normal and immunocompromised hosts.

—Peter S. Millard et al.

… there is a wide array of mechanisms by which the parasite evades or modulates host immunological attack.

—Rick M. Maizel et al.

see also definitive host, host cell, intermediate host

b

biology : the larger, stronger, or dominant member of a commensal or symbiotic pair

When one species, known as the symbiont, lives within the body of the other, known as the host, the relation is called endosymbiotic.

—James J. Childress et al.

In a number of natural associations, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legumes, the host organism receives a significant benefit, but the symbiont partner gets little in return.

—Physics Today

c

biology : an individual into which a tissue, part, or embryo is transplanted from another

Allogeneic transplantation is more complicated than syngeneic or autologous transplantation because of immunologic differences between donor and host.

—Frederick R. Appelbaum

This suggests that functional connections develop between the transplanted neural tissue and the host brain.

—Gary W. Arendash et al.

see also graft-versus-host disease

3

: a person who talks to guests on a program (such as a radio or television show or a podcast)

As chairman of Harpo Entertainment Group, as well as host, star, and supervising producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey is the most successful woman ever to enter the field of television.

—Harry Allen

Not only was he confident, with a malleable voice that was equal parts game show host and morning-radio DJ, but his jokes were seemingly fully formed.

—Peter Rubin

As [Randi] Rhodes demonstrates every afternoon drive, a liberal talk radio host can be just as bombastic, hyperbolic, and plain old nasty as a conservative one.

—Jason Zengerle

The YouTuber and podcast host has gained millions of subscribers with her opinionated brand of energy and excitement.

—Vanessa Jackson

Even though some YouTube hosts are iconic for rarely showing their faces …, it's typically a good idea to know some basics about hosting a video and honing your online personality.

—Shelby Brown

see also cohost

4

: a mineral or rock that is older than the minerals or rocks in it

also : a substance that contains a usually small amount of another substance incorporated in its structure

Concretions … are discrete bodies—often spheroidal, ellipsoidal, or disk-shaped—with a composition similar to that of the host rock except for the mineral cement, which is frequently calcite, silica, or iron oxide.

—Alan M. Cvancara

5

: a computer that controls communications in a network or that administers a database

But the malware attached to the fake Air Force e-mail has a more devious—and worrisome—capability … it gives the attacker control over the "host" PC, capturing screen shots and perusing files.

—Brian Grow et al.

also : server sense 6

see also play host to

host

2 of 5

verb (1)

hosted; hosting; hosts

transitive verb

1

a

: to receive or entertain guests at or for (an event)

… comes with every utensil you'd ever need to successfully host a 12-person dinner party.

—Jamie Rabinovitch

b

: to serve as host (see host entry 1 sense 1) to (a person or group)

hosting guests from out of town

… the Pelicans will host the Atlanta Hawks in a preseason game …

—Chris Dodson

The agency commended Uganda for again welcoming people uprooted by violence. The country hosts more refugees than any other nation on the continent.

—news.un.org

2

: emcee sense 1

hosts a late-night show

The event, hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Niecy Nash … will include 16 award categories … honoring standout achievements in Black filmmaking and television.

—Audrey J. Bernard

3

computers : to provide and maintain (a host or server)

Those who want to take their online gameplay to the next level should host their own server instead, rather than relying on the free, shared servers provided by others.

—Trevor Anderson

also : to serve as or provide a host or server for (a network, website, etc.)

… malware had infected the servers that host … electronic medical records …

—Morgan Eichensehr

The data center, which will host a network of computer services … , will eventually employ 50 workers.

—The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer

host

3 of 5

noun (2)

variants or less commonly Host

plural hosts also Hosts

religion : the eucharistic bread

host

4 of 5

noun (3)

plural hosts

1

: a great number : multitude

a whole host of options

2

: army

… the destruction of Pharaoh's host in that sea …

—W. L. Sperry

host

5 of 5

verb (2)

hosted; hosting; hosts

intransitive verb

: to assemble in an army usually for a hostile purpose

Synonyms

Noun (3)

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• horde
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

Examples of host in a Sentence

Noun (3)

a host of people assembled along the parade route to see the new president

the small band of defenders was no match for the enemy's mighty host of thousands

our favorite morning TV show has a new host

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Qatar and the Lusail Stadium will play host on Wednesday evening as Real Madrid seek their first title in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in its debut year in existence. —Sam Leveridge, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024

Next up: Minnesota travels to the Emerald City to take on the Seahawks while the Bears host the Lions on Sunday. —Wayne Sterling, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024

Verb

In the modern digital economy, hosting isn’t optional. —Kjartan Rist, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

The quiz show — hosted by Helen Mirren — was created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first movie's release, airing during the 2021 holiday season. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English ost, host "person who receives guests, guest," borrowed from Anglo-French oste, hoste, going back to Latin hospit-, hospes "guest, visitor, person receiving guests," going back to dialectal Indo-European *g^hosti-pot- (whence probably also Old Church Slavic gospodĭ "lord, master"), from *g^host-i- "outsider, guest" + *pot- "one in control, master" — more at guest entry 1, potent entry 1

Note: The dual meanings "host"/"guest" of Latin hospes and its progeny are due to customs of reciprocity: a person serving as guest on one occasion would act—and be expected to act—as host on another occasion to a visiting former host. Both Latin hospes and Slavic gospodĭ have undergone a considerable degree of phonetic reduction from their putative etymons—in particular in the Slavic case, where Latin unstressed syllable reduction and syncope were not at play—leading some to question the correctness of the etymologies. Parallel compounds with the same second element are Greek despótēs "master, lord" (going back to *dems-pot- "master of the house"; see despot), Sanskrit dámpatiḥ "householder, lord of the house," Avestan də̄ṇg paitiš; Sanskrit viśpátiḥ "chief of a settlement/tribe," Avestan vīspaitiš, Lithuanian viẽšpats "lord" (with outcomes of Indo-European *u̯iḱ-, *u̯oiḱ- "house, community"; see vicinity).

Verb (1)

Middle English hosten, osten, derivative of ost, host host entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English hoste, oste "sacrificial offering, bread consecrated in the Eucharist," borrowed from Anglo-French hoste, hoiste, going back to Late Latin hostia "Eucharist," going back to Latin, "sacrificial animal," derivative from the base of hostīre "to recompense, requite," hostis "foreigner, stranger, enemy" — more at guest entry 1

Noun (3)

Middle English ost, host "army, detachment, body of attendants, multitude, throng," borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Late Latin hostis "archenemy, the Devil, army," going back to Latin, "foreigner, stranger" (in early use), "enemy," going back to dialectal Indo-European *g^host-i- "outsider, guest" — more at guest entry 1

Note: The use of hostis to mean "army," evident in 6th-century Latin (Gregory the Great, Gregory of Tours), is apparently via the sense shift "enemy" > "enemy army" > "any armed force." For details on the earlier semantic history of Latin hostis see note at guest entry 1.

Verb (2)

derivative of host entry 4

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing host

• amplification host
• amplifier host
• amplifying host
• co-host
• definitive host
• graft-versus-host disease
• host cell
• intermediate host
• play host to

Kids Definition

host

1 of 4 noun

ˈhōst 

1

: army sense 1a

2

: a great number

host

2 of 4 noun

1

: one who receives or entertains guests socially or as a business

2

: a living animal or plant on or in which a parasite lives

host

3 of 4 verb

1

: to serve as host to, for, or at

host friends

hosting a dinner

2

: to serve as master of ceremonies for

hosted the awards show

host

4 of 4 noun

often capitalized

: a round thin piece of bread used in the Eucharist

Etymology

Noun

Middle English host "army," from early French ost (same meaning), from Late Latin hostis (same meaning), from earlier hostis "stranger, enemy" — related to hospital, hostile

Noun

Middle English hoste "host, guest," from early French hoste (same meaning), from Latin hospit-, hospes "host, stranger, guest" — related to hospital, hospitality

Medical Definition

host

noun

ˈhōst 

1

: a living organism on or in which a parasite lives see definitive host, host cell, intermediate host

2

: the larger, stronger, or dominant one of a commensal or symbiotic pair

3

a

: an individual into which a tissue or part is transplanted from another

b

: an individual in whom an abnormal growth (as a cancer) is proliferating