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
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
ghosted; ghosting; ghosts
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
Ellen Scott1
a
: to move silently like a ghost
b
: to sail quietly in light winds
2
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
Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 July 2025
The nearly 150-year-old building also comes with a mischievous (and fictitious) ghost the team at Santé’ has dubbed Dante.
—Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2025
Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 31 July 2025
With social events down and birthdays getting ghosted, Lagunitas is celebrating the people who still show up, rally the crew, and turn any random Tuesday into an occasion.
—Jeanette Hurt, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghost
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Noun
Choose from ghosts, black cats, and pumpkins, all with a range of colors to match your home’s color palette.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 July 2025
The nearly 150-year-old building also comes with a mischievous (and fictitious) ghost the team at Santé’ has dubbed Dante.
—Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2025
Verb
People aren’t only getting ghosted on dating apps—workers, hiring managers, and even CEOs are being left on read in their professional lives.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 31 July 2025
With social events down and birthdays getting ghosted, Lagunitas is celebrating the people who still show up, rally the crew, and turn any random Tuesday into an occasion.
—Jeanette Hurt, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ghost
Cite this Entry
“Ghost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ghost
noun
: 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
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