guest

noun \ ˈgest \

Updated on: 10 May 2018

Definition of guest

1 a : a person entertained in one's house

b : a person to whom hospitality is extended

c : a person who pays for the services of an establishment (such as a hotel or restaurant)

2 : an organism (such as an insect) sharing the dwelling of another; especially : inquiline

3 : a substance that is incorporated in a host substance

4 : a usually prominent person not a regular member of a cast or organization who appears in a program or performance

See guest defined for English-language learners

See guest defined for kids

Examples of guest in a Sentence

Our guests should be arriving soon.
Only invited guests are allowed inside the banquet hall.
He played at the country club as a guest of one of the members.
Our guests receive the finest quality service.
Frequent guests receive a discount.

Recent Examples of guest from the Web

Soon after suing Donald Trump for defamation, Stormy Daniels appeared on Saturday Night Live as a surprise guest on the show's cold open on Saturday, May 5.

— suzannah weiss, Teen Vogue, "Stormy Daniels Mocks Trump on "Saturday Night Live"," 6 May 2018
The Assembly defines itself as being open to all women and female-identifying people, while men are welcome as guests of members, event attendees, class participants and visitors.

— flora tsapovsky, San Francisco Chronicle, "Forget co-working: Women flock to ‘gathering space’ communities," 2 May 2018
The Top 150 Nurses were selected by a panel of educators and leaders in the field, and the Top 15 received special recognition as guests at the awards luncheon.

— emilia benton, Houston Chronicle, "Best of the best: Annual Salute to Nurses luncheon celebrates outstanding professionals," 30 Apr. 2018
As for Uncle Prince Harry’s upcoming wedding to Meghan Markle on May 19, don’t expect to see little Louis as a guest.

— diana pearl, PEOPLE.com, "Royal Baby Withdrawal? This Is When You Can Expect to See Prince Louis Again," 30 Apr. 2018
Yeah Yeahs, Amos Lee, Liz Phair, Grammy Award-winning San Diego band Switchfoot (with San Diego surfing great Rob Machado as a special musical guest), Young the Giant, the John Doe Folk Trio, Plague Vendor, Fantastic Negrito and more.

— george varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Eddie Vedder, Eric Church, Mumford & Sons to headline 2018 Ohana Festival in Dana Point," 30 Apr. 2018
Cue the Sousa Clinton was on hand for the potentially historic finale, attending as a guest of team co-owner Marc Lasry.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Seven moments to remember from the final game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center," 29 Apr. 2018
His daughter appeared as a special guest on a recording by the group at the age of 6.

— michael mcgough, sacbee, "Actress Molly Ringwald thanks Southwest Airlines for helping save her dad's life | The Sacramento Bee," 28 Apr. 2018
There was this pretty big document of all of the people who had appeared as guests on his show.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: New York Times reporter Emily Steel on Recode Media," 28 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guest.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of guest

Middle English gest, from Old Norse gestr; akin to Old English giest guest, stranger, Latin hostis stranger, enemy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

guest Synonyms

guest

verb

Definition of guest

transitive verb

: to receive as a guest

intransitive verb

: to appear as a guest

Recent Examples of guest from the Web

Lawrence, as People reports, actually met Burke through brother Joey in 2006, who guested on DWTS in the show’s third season.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Abington's Matthew Lawrence engaged to 'DWTS' pro Cheryl Burke," 4 May 2018
While some fans were busy commenting on the quality of the image and others were excited to see Isidora, who guest stars on Shameless, others had questions about Shailene’s current relationship status.

— kara nesvig, Teen Vogue, "Shailene Woodley's Date Night Photo with Isidora Goreshter Had Some Fans Asking Questions," 27 Apr. 2018
The First Lady will guest star on the show's hour-long season finale on April 24.

— lauren le vine, Redbook, "Morning Headlines: Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Are Reportedly Engaged, Seth Rogen Is the Best Son-in-Law Ever — and More," 28 Feb. 2014
Jerry O’Connell will guest star as Sheldon’s older brother Georgie.

— jamie ballard, Good Housekeeping, ""The Big Bang Theory" Season Finale: All the Things We Know So Far," 17 Apr. 2018
According to Variety, which broke the news, Borle will guest star on the show, first appearing in the season's fourth episode.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Younger Season 5: Everything We Know So Far," 9 Apr. 2018
Update, 9/1: Seems Brit Brit isn't the only pop singer heading to Miami—Kesha has just signed on to guest star in season 2 of Jane the Virgin as well, according to E!

— samantha leal, Marie Claire, "The Pop Stars Keep Coming: Kesha Will *Also* Appear on 'Jane the Virgin'," 1 Sep. 2015
Fashionista - Portia de Rossi will guest-star on the fourth season of Scandal, which returns on September 25.

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Duchess of Cambridge Receives a Special Gift from Victoria Beckham," 24 July 2014
After Reynolds’ death, Messing mourned the loss of her TV mother, who guest starred in 12 episodes of the beloved show during its original run.

— stephanie petit, PEOPLE.com, "Debra Messing Remembers Talking Motherhood with Will & Grace Costar Debbie Reynolds," 18 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of guest

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Guest

biographical name \ ˈgest \

Definition of Guest

Edgar Albert 1881–1959 American journalist and poet

GUEST Defined for English Language Learners

guest

noun

Definition of guest for English Language Learners

: a person who is invited to visit or stay in someone's home
: a person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor
: a customer at a hotel, restaurant, etc.

GUEST Defined for Kids

guest

noun \ ˈgest \

Definition of guest for Students

1 : a person invited to visit or stay in someone's home

2 : a person invited to a special place or event

a wedding guest

3 : a customer at a hotel, motel, inn, or restaurant

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See words that rhyme with guest Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for guest Spanish Central: Translation of guest Nglish: Translation of guest for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of guest for Arabic speakers

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