the soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined, usually as a vague, shadowy or evanescent form, as wandering among or haunting living persons.
a mere shadow or semblance; a trace: He's a ghost of his former self.
a remote possibility: He hasn't a ghost of a chance.
(sometimes initial capital letter) a spiritual being.
the principle of life; soul; spirit.
Informal. ghostwriter.
a secondary image, especially one appearing on a television screen as a white shadow, caused by poor or double reception or by a defect in the receiver.
Also called ghost im·age[gohst-im-ij] /ˈgoʊst ˌɪm ɪdʒ/ .Photography. a faint secondary or out-of-focus image in a photographic print or negative resulting from reflections within the camera lens.
an oral word game in which each player in rotation adds a letter to those supplied by preceding players, the object being to avoid ending a word.
Optics. a series of false spectral lines produced by a diffraction grating with unevenly spaced lines.
Metalworking. a streak appearing on a freshly machined piece of steel containing impurities.
a red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
a fictitious employee, business, etc., fabricated especially for the purpose of manipulating funds or avoiding taxes: Investigation showed a payroll full of ghosts.
verb (used with object)
to ghostwrite (a book, speech, etc.).
to haunt.
Engraving. to lighten the background of (a photograph) before engraving.
Informal.
to suddenly end all contact with (a person) without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship:The guy I’ve been dating ghosted me.
to leave (a social event or gathering) suddenly without saying goodbye:My friend ghosted my birthday party.
Digital Technology. to remove (comments, threads, or other digital content) from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
verb (used without object)
to ghostwrite.
to go about or move like a ghost.
(of a sailing vessel) to move when there is no perceptible wind.
to pay people for work not performed, especially as a way of manipulating funds.
Informal.
to suddenly end all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship:They dated for a month and then she ghosted.
to leave a social event or gathering suddenly without saying goodbye:I'm getting tired so I think I might just ghost.
Digital Technology. to remove comments, threads, or other digital content from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
adjective
fabricated for purposes of deception or fraud: We were making contributions to a ghost company.
Idioms for ghost
give up the ghost,
to die.
to cease to function or exist.
Origin of ghost
First recorded before 900; Middle English goost (noun), Old English gāst; cognate with German Geist spirit
1. Ghost,specter,spirit all refer to the disembodied soul of a person. A ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, which appears or otherwise makes its presence known to the living: the ghost of a drowned child. A specter is a ghost or apparition of more or less weird, unearthly, or terrifying aspect: a frightening specter.Spirit is often interchangeable with ghost but may mean a supernatural being, usually with an indication of good or malign intent toward human beings: the spirit of a friend; an evil spirit.
OTHER WORDS FROM ghost
ghost·i·ly,adverbghost·like,adjectivede·ghost,verb (used with object)un·ghost·like,adjective
I am indebted to Mr. Williams, schoolmaster, Bryneglwys, for the history of this Ghost.
Welsh Folk-Lore|Elias Owen
I never did think much about a ghost, but I think it could be possible.
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves|Work Projects Administration
Occasionally she met him in the hall; he drifted past her like a ghost.
The Californians|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
Snakes which haunt a sacred place are themselves sacred, because they belong to or actually embody the ghost.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3)|Sir James George Frazer
This seclusion lasts so long as the ghost is supposed to be still on his way to the other world.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3)|Sir James George Frazer
British Dictionary definitions for ghost
ghost
/ (ɡəʊst) /
noun
the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantomRelated adjective: spectral
a haunting memorythe ghost of his former life rose up before him
a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmera ghost of a smile
the spirit; soul (archaic, except in the phrase the Holy Ghost)
physics
a faint secondary image produced by an optical system
a similar image on a television screen, formed by reflection of the transmitting waves or by a defect in the receiver
See ghost word
Also called: ghost editionan entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists
Another name for ghostwriterSee ghostwrite
(modifier)falsely recorded as doing a particular job or fulfilling a particular function in order that some benefit, esp money, may be obtaineda ghost worker
give up the ghost
to die
(of a machine) to stop working
verb
See ghostwrite
(tr)to haunt
(intr)to move effortlessly and smoothly, esp unnoticedhe ghosted into the penalty area
Derived forms of ghost
ghostlike, adjective
Word Origin for ghost
Old English gāst; related to Old Frisian jēst, Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit hēda fury, anger
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