ghost
1 of 2noun
ˈgōst 
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
3
: spirit, demon
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
ghostlike
ˈgōst-ˌlīk
adjective ghosty
ˈgō-stē
adjective ghost
2 of 2verb
ghosted; ghosting; ghosts
transitive verb
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 Scottintransitive verb
1
a
: to move silently like a ghost
b
: to sail quietly in light winds
2
: ghostwrite
Synonyms
Noun
- apparition
- bogey
- bogie
- bogy
- familiar spirit
- hant [dialect]
- haunt [chiefly dialect]
- materialization
- phantasm
- fantasm
- phantom
- poltergeist
- shade
- shadow
- specter
- spectre
- spirit
- spook
- sprite
- vision
- visitant
- wraith
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 WebJoe Sills, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2023 In one edited sequence, the poet, bathed in a blue glow, gets out of bed leaving the ghost of herself behind, reinforcing Giovanni’s boundary between her public and private selves. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2023 The performance hangs in the balance until the ghost of Tammy visits him and reassures that everything will be alright. —oregonlive, 25 Jan. 2023 The ghost of Marilyn Monroe can have a break from haunting Kim Kardashian. —Brendan Morrow, The Week, 18 Jan. 2023 That's tough when the assignment called him to run or climb stairs, acts required of the ghost during his haunting period. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2022 The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, visited by the ghost of his business partner and the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come, has been adapted for film, stage and television beginning in the silent era of movies and continuing to this day. —Los Angeles Times, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Dec. 2022 Her early days of pop stardom were defined by her relationship with Justin Bieber, and the ghost of their puppy love seems to follow her today. —Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2022 That old person, one of a small, rotating group, is, at this time of year, a ghost of Christmas past. —Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press, 11 Dec. 2022 Ava Kofman, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2022 One way of increasing company returns is to ghost the dying. —Ava Kofman, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022 In traditional Korean medicine alone, there are at least 19 insects and other arthropods commonly prescribed, including centipedes, cicada nymphal skins, and ghost moth larvae infected with the paralyzing fungusOphiocordyceps sinensis. —Troy Farah, Discover Magazine, 13 Apr. 2018 This year has swung a wide arc through the world of speculative fiction, from alternate-earth kaiju to ghost mushrooms. —Liz Braswell, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2022 Don’t ghost someone who’s already dealing with ghosts. —Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Dec. 2022 The wings were to ghost peppers what Little League is to MLB. —Tim Carman, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2022 Applicants have more bargaining power than ever before and are turning the tables on hiring teams by being the first to ghost a company if the recruitment experience doesn’t deliver. —Patrick Donegan, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 If not, don't be shocked if fans decide to ghost this franchise. —Brendan Morrow, The Week, 9 Aug. 2022 See More
Noun
Hotel del Coronado is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Kate Morgan. —Joe Sills, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2023 In one edited sequence, the poet, bathed in a blue glow, gets out of bed leaving the ghost of herself behind, reinforcing Giovanni’s boundary between her public and private selves. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2023 The performance hangs in the balance until the ghost of Tammy visits him and reassures that everything will be alright. —oregonlive, 25 Jan. 2023 The ghost of Marilyn Monroe can have a break from haunting Kim Kardashian. —Brendan Morrow, The Week, 18 Jan. 2023 That's tough when the assignment called him to run or climb stairs, acts required of the ghost during his haunting period. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2022 The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, visited by the ghost of his business partner and the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come, has been adapted for film, stage and television beginning in the silent era of movies and continuing to this day. —Los Angeles Times, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Dec. 2022 Her early days of pop stardom were defined by her relationship with Justin Bieber, and the ghost of their puppy love seems to follow her today. —Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2022 That old person, one of a small, rotating group, is, at this time of year, a ghost of Christmas past. —Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press, 11 Dec. 2022 Verb
One way of increasing company returns is to ghost the dying. —Ava Kofman, ProPublica, 28 Nov. 2022 One way of increasing company returns is to ghost the dying. —Ava Kofman, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022 In traditional Korean medicine alone, there are at least 19 insects and other arthropods commonly prescribed, including centipedes, cicada nymphal skins, and ghost moth larvae infected with the paralyzing fungusOphiocordyceps sinensis. —Troy Farah, Discover Magazine, 13 Apr. 2018 This year has swung a wide arc through the world of speculative fiction, from alternate-earth kaiju to ghost mushrooms. —Liz Braswell, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2022 Don’t ghost someone who’s already dealing with ghosts. —Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Dec. 2022 The wings were to ghost peppers what Little League is to MLB. —Tim Carman, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2022 Applicants have more bargaining power than ever before and are turning the tables on hiring teams by being the first to ghost a company if the recruitment experience doesn’t deliver. —Patrick Donegan, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 If not, don't be shocked if fans decide to ghost this franchise. —Brendan Morrow, The Week, 9 Aug. 2022 See More 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
Phrases Containing ghost
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 ˈgōst
: 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
ghosted
verb
as in padded
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- padded
- tiptoed
- edged
- moused
- crept
- crawled
- sneaked
- slunk
- slid
- snaked
- inched
- lurked
- skulked
- slinked
- slipped
- stole
- snuck
- wormed
- mooched
- pussyfooted
- shirked