play host to

idiomatic phrase

: to serve as a host for (someone or something)

Each year, the city plays host to the film festival for one week.

As travel to the Third World has expanded, so, too, has concern about the damage wrought by mass tourism on the people and places that play host to wandering North Americans and Europeans.

—Ira Silver

St. John's meets No. 3-ranked Duke and the Big East rival Miami on the road, and will play host to No. 4 Syracuse, No. 13 Connecticut and surging Seton Hall at the Garden.

—Jon Drape

The grasslands play host to [=provide a home for] long-billed curlews and sage grouse, and eagles, osprey and coyotes scavenge the area.

—Kay Clark

Examples of play host to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Back in the day, this beachfront hideaway played host to the likes of Jackie Onassis and Brigitte Bardot. —Siobhan Reid, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025

For the second year in a row, the 4th of July played host to a momentous musical release; coincidentally, the consecutive drops have come from the two guys who had the biggest rap beef of all time last year, Drake and Kendrick Lamar. —Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 7 July 2025

Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings (5-13) play host to Satou Sabally and the Phoenix Mercury (12-5) in a midweek matchup from College Park Center. —Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 July 2025

From tiny hummingbirds to fearsome raptors, the avian biodiversity of South America is truly a wonder to behold, with vast swathes of verdant rainforest, open grassland and glacial fjords all playing host to their own unique array of avian species. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for play host to

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• caribou
• cockatoo
• detinue
• devalue