ghost

1 of 2

noun

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 2

verb

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

intransitive verb

1

a

: to move silently like a ghost

b

: to sail quietly in light winds

2

: ghostwrite

Synonyms

Noun

• apparition
• spirit
• phantom
• haunt [chiefly dialect]

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

Noun

But what do the locals actually think of their vampire-like namesake, who is believed to be the vengeful ghost of a woman who died in pregnancy or childbirth? To find out, researcher Timo Duile headed to Pontianak for conversations with ethnic Malay Muslim and Dayak Christian residents. —H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 5 July 2025

The ghosts of late 1950s-early 1960s country favorites Maybelle Carter and Patsy Cline share space with pop-soul icons The Shirelles. —Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Verb

One way people are breaking through mass applications, AI interviews and HR ghosting? —Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 18 June 2025

Tips on ghosting a new friend versus a lifelong bestie will look pretty different. —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 16 June 2025

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

• ghost chili
• ghost gun
• ghost kitchen
• ghost of a chance
• ghost pepper
• ghost/shadow of one's former self
• ghost story
• ghost town
• ghost word
• give up the ghost

Rhymes for ghost

• boast
• coast
• doest
• dosed
• grossed
• host
• most
• moste
• roast
• toast
• almost
• engrossed

Kids Definition

ghost

1 of 2 noun

ˈgōst

: the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world or as appearing to living people

ghost

2 of 2 verb

ghosted; ghosting

1

: to haunt like a ghost

2

: ghostwrite

3

informal : to cut off contact with (someone) abruptly and usually without explanation

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