ghost
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.
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.
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.
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.
fabricated for purposes of deception or fraud: We were making contributions to a ghost company.
Idioms about ghost
give up the ghost,
to die.
to cease to function or exist.
Origin of ghost
1synonym study For ghost
Other words for ghost
Other words from ghost
- ghost·i·ly, adverb
- ghost·like, adjective
- de·ghost, verb (used with object)
- un·ghost·like, adjective
Words Nearby ghost
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ghost in a sentence
The expansion of ghost kitchens was well underway before the pandemic.
The spread of third-party delivery apps and ghost kitchens means that many customers largely interact with restaurants through apps, not the restaurants directly.
What if Every Independent Pizzeria Was Just Part of One Big Fake Chain? | Jaya Saxena | February 3, 2021 | EaterNew “ghost kitchens,” or delivery-only restaurants capitalizing on the rise of Grubhub and UberEats, popped up, many specializing in wings.
The Super Bowl is coming. And we’re running out of chicken wings. | Jacob Bogage | February 2, 2021 | Washington PostLast year police in New York state arrested an Army drone operator and alleged Boogaloo Boi on charges that he owned an illegal ghost gun.
The Boogaloo Bois Have Guns, Criminal Records and Military Training. Now They Want to Overthrow the Government. | by A.C. Thompson, ProPublica, and Lila Hassan and Karim Hajj, FRONTLINE | February 1, 2021 | ProPublicaGroup Nine has been thinking about expanding further in this direction by leveraging the ghost kitchen it launched through Thrillist back in December.
With America still on lockdown, publishers lean into direct mail | Max Willens | February 1, 2021 | Digiday
The well, ghost or no ghost, is certainly a piece of history with a bold presence.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion | Nina Strochlic | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTNow, she says, her coworkers are actively pranking each other and blaming it on the ghost.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion | Nina Strochlic | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTFirst, the ghost of his departed partner, Jacob Marley, comes calling, his face emerging from the doorknob.
As Monday turned to Tuesday morning, five hostages had escaped and the Central Business District had turned into a ghost town.
Jihadi Siege in Sydney Ends in Gunfight | Courtney Subramanian, Lennox Samuels, Chris Allbritton | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ghost writer in question is assumed to be one Siobhan Curham—an established author of both YA and adult fiction.
Meet Zoella—The Newbie Author Whose Book Sales Topped J.K. Rowling | Lucy Scholes | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTT least, thet's all I think 't wuz; though thar wuz those thet said 't wuz Claiborne's ghost.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonMeanwhile Fleurette had her nourishing food, and grew more like the ghost of a lily every day.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeOur poor planet will be but a silent ghost whirling on its dark path in the starlight.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockFor a moment there was no consciousness in their gaze; then a whimsical ghost of a smile crept about his mouth.
Uncanny Tales | VariousNow it will be as well here to inquire what good has ever resulted from this belief in what is commonly understood to be a ghost?
Second Edition of A Discovery Concerning Ghosts | George Cruikshank
British Dictionary definitions for ghost
/ (ɡəʊst) /
the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantom: Related adjective: spectral
a haunting memory: the ghost of his former life rose up before him
a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmer: a 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 edition an entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists
Another name for ghostwriter: See ghostwrite
(modifier) falsely recorded as doing a particular job or fulfilling a particular function in order that some benefit, esp money, may be obtained: a ghost worker
give up the ghost
to die
(of a machine) to stop working
See ghostwrite
(tr) to haunt
(intr) to move effortlessly and smoothly, esp unnoticed: he ghosted into the penalty area
Origin of ghost
1Derived forms of ghost
- ghostlike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with ghost
In addition to the idiom beginning with ghost
- ghost town
also see:
- Chinaman's (ghost of a) chance
- give up the ghost
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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