ghost
Americannoun
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ghosts
plural
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the soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined, usually as a vague, shadowy or evanescent form, as wandering among or haunting living persons.
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a mere shadow or semblance; a trace.
He's a ghost of his former self.
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a remote possibility.
He hasn't a ghost of a chance.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) a spiritual being.
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Informal. ghostwriter.
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a secondary image, especially one appearing on a television screen as a white shadow, caused by poor or double reception or by a defect in the receiver.
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Also called ghost image. Photography. a faint secondary or out-of-focus image in a photographic print or negative resulting from reflections within the camera lens.
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an oral word game in which each player in rotation adds a letter to those supplied by preceding players, the object being to avoid ending a word.
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Optics. a series of false spectral lines produced by a diffraction grating with unevenly spaced lines.
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Metalworking. a streak appearing on a freshly machined piece of steel containing impurities.
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a red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
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a fictitious employee, business, etc., fabricated especially for the purpose of manipulating funds or avoiding taxes.
Investigation showed a payroll full of ghosts.
verb (used with object)
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ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
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ghosted,
past participle, past
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ghosting
present participle
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to ghostwrite (a book, speech, etc.).
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to haunt.
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Engraving. to lighten the background of (a photograph) before engraving.
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Informal.
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to suddenly end all contact with (a person) without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
The guy I’ve been dating ghosted me.
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to leave (a social event or gathering) suddenly without saying goodbye.
My friend ghosted my birthday party.
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Digital Technology. to remove (comments, threads, or other digital content) from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
verb (used without object)
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ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
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ghosted,
past participle, past
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ghosting
present participle
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to ghostwrite.
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to go about or move like a ghost.
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(of a sailing vessel) to move when there is no perceptible wind.
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to pay people for work not performed, especially as a way of manipulating funds.
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Informal.
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to suddenly end all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
They dated for a month and then she ghosted.
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to leave a social event or gathering suddenly without saying goodbye.
I'm getting tired so I think I might just ghost.
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Digital Technology. to remove comments, threads, or other digital content from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
adjective
idioms
noun
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the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantom
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a haunting memory
the ghost of his former life rose up before him
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a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmer
a ghost of a smile
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the spirit; soul (archaic, except in the phrase the Holy Ghost )
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physics
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a faint secondary image produced by an optical system
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a similar image on a television screen, formed by reflection of the transmitting waves or by a defect in the receiver
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See ghost word
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Also called: ghost edition. an entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists
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Another name for ghostwriter See ghostwrite
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(modifier) falsely recorded as doing a particular job or fulfilling a particular function in order that some benefit, esp money, may be obtained
a ghost worker
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to die
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(of a machine) to stop working
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verb
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See ghostwrite
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(tr) to haunt
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(intr) to move effortlessly and smoothly, esp unnoticed
he ghosted into the penalty area
Synonym Usage
Ghost, specter, spirit all refer to the disembodied soul of a person. A ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, which appears or otherwise makes its presence known to the living: the ghost of a drowned child. A specter is a ghost or apparition of more or less weird, unearthly, or terrifying aspect: a frightening specter. Spirit is often interchangeable with ghost but may mean a supernatural being, usually with an indication of good or malign intent toward human beings: the spirit of a friend; an evil spirit.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ghostsimple
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ghostssimple
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have ghostedperfect
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has ghostedperfect
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am ghostingprogressive
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are ghostingprogressive
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is ghostingprogressive
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have been ghostingperfect progressive
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has been ghostingperfect progressive
Past
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ghostedsimple
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had ghostedperfect
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was ghostingprogressive
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were ghostingprogressive
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had been ghostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ghost
First recorded before 900; Middle English goost (noun), Old English gāst; cognate with German Geist spirit
Explanation
A ghost is the spirit of a person who's died. In most stories and myths, ghosts are pale, translucent, and wispy. Throughout history, the idea that a person's soul or spirit can remain visible after her death has been common. Some of us long to see the ghost of a loved relative, while others are terrified of the very idea. From this main idea, the word ghost has also come to mean the hint or shade of something: "The ghost of a smile remained on her lips." The Old English root is gast, "spirit," and also "breath."
Vocabulary lists containing ghost
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Said the Dead” turns out to be a ghost story and an ingeniously constructed hall of mirrors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Unbelievably, someone had already been there earlier that day, like a ghost we had neither seen nor heard nor felt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
She says she hears endless footsteps and the ghost talking.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
A Facebook advert we saw had one man "looking for 7/8 ghost tenants in various houses of mine".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The early morning joggers and the half-asleep students clutching bags of bagels to their chests didn’t so much as give him or the towering, enraged ghost slowly making his way to Boaz a passing glance.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Now a major fixture in the city's calendar, the final day of the festival attracted visitors from around the world, who joined in the celebrations with all of the ghosts, ghouls and goblins.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
It follows the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager with distinctive orange hair who has the unusual ability to see ghosts.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Early in the opera, otherworldly figures arrive to urge the ghosts to cross over, with multiple copies of each one’s tempter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Paul Cremo, who directs the Met's commissioning program, said creating the other-worldly universe for "Bardo" -- in which tendrils engulf singers and ghosts explode -- challenged the Met's technical staff.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Beowulf agreed, for all the white sheets did make the office seem full of ghosts.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Eventually, he was getting ghosted for food-preparation jobs, including at a company that sells frozen crab cakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
“Between ghost jobs and being ghosted, it was infuriating,” she said — referring to “ghost job” listings for positions that are either already filled or don’t really exist.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
“The other was for a retail position at a local Kohl’s, which ghosted me.”
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
In her first significant film role, Laruelle sharply conveys Perla’s fragile mental state as she gradually accepts that her boyfriend has ghosted her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026
Each time the blades rose from it, the boat ghosted forward without check or hesitation.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The case for boring men: Dating in the modern era is a minefield, requiring you to deftly navigate the apps, tune out bad TikTok advice, and contend with the threat of ghosting.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
“The ghosting thing is a very real problem,” he said — adding that hasn’t seen any evidence that a cover letter improves the chances of a response for GigHQ users.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
I matched with a Glen Powell type again, 10 years after ghosting him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Discovery WBD 4.41%increase; green up pointing triangle was in trouble when the company’s CEO, David Zaslav, started ghosting him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
“Thought you were ghosting for a second,” Arthur says.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
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