plural guests
1
: a person who is invited to visit or stay in someone's home
Our guests should be arriving soon.
a dinner/party guest
an overnight guest
2
: a person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor
Only invited guests are allowed inside the banquet hall.
He played at the country club as a guest of one of the members.
She will be the guest of honor [=the person who is being specially honored] at the annual banquet.
He was the guest speaker [=a person invited to a gathering to give a speech] at the awards ceremony.
The guest list [=the list of people who are being invited] for the party is getting long.
3
: a customer at a hotel, restaurant, etc.
Our guests receive the finest quality service.
Frequent guests receive a discount.
Paying guests [=guests who have paid to stay in or use something] may use the fitness room.
4
: a usually well-known person who is invited to appear or perform on a program, at an event, etc.
They frequently appeared as guests on TV talk shows.
a celebrity guest
—often used before another nouna guest star
He made several guest appearances/shots on the series.
Cite this Entry
“Guest.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/guest. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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