hostel

American  

[hos-tl] / ˈhɒs tl /

noun

• hostels
  plural

1. Also called youth hostel. an inexpensive, supervised lodging place for young people on bicycle trips, hikes, etc.

2. (formerly) a residence for the exclusive use of boarding Indigenous students, separate from but close to any of a series of day schools in northern Canada that were operated or funded by the federal government and were themselves open to students of any ethnicity.

3. British. a student residence at a university or boarding school.

4. an inn.

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verb (used without object)

hosteled, hosteling, hostelled, hostelling

1. to travel, lodging each night at a hostel.

hostel British  

/ ˈhɒstəl /

noun

1. a building providing overnight accommodation, as for the homeless, etc

2. See youth hostel

3. a supervised lodging house for nurses, workers, etc

4. archaic another word for hostelry

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hostels
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hostel

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English (h)ostel, from Old French, from Late Latin hospitāle “guest room”; see hospital

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Explanation

If you backpack around Europe and are traveling on a budget, you will probably want to stay in a hostel, an inexpensive lodging made typically for young travelers willing to sleep in dorms. The word hostel comes from the Latin hospitale meaning "inn, large house." Think of a hostel as an inn for students or young people. Often you can stay in one of these places for relatively little money because multiple beds are in one room and you share the bathroom with other guests. If you want to meet traveling students, you could try opening a youth hostel in your home town.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hostel hostels hosteled hosteling hostelling

On Monday, LPU released a video of three women living in the hostel room that had been linked to the alleged assault.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

A few weeks ago, I met an acquaintance for coffee at a Cuban café attached to a downtown hostel, where people with backpacks of varying dimensions passed steadily through the lobby.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

The second time we met Laura from Italy, it was at a Henro hostel where she and Karen made pizza with telephonic help from Laura’s mother in Italy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

Since then, I’ve corresponded with Nimblewill Nomad, the record holder and caretaker of a hostel at Flagg Mountain, the start of the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Oliver lived in Beda Hall, the Anglican hostel, and though I did not have much contact with him at Fort Hare, it was easy to see that he was destined for great things.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

It’s church bells; bunk beds in 15-euro hostels; and some grand cities but also lots of tiny towns that exist because people with backpacks keep arriving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

They were soon joined by young, adventurous backpackers, who filled hostels and traveled on the cheap.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

But after not hearing from her for two days, dad Nic frantically rang around hostels where she had been staying, before locating her in the intensive care unit of a Goa hospital.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

There are dozens of accommodation options too, from hostels to brand new luxury getaways advertising the area as Morocco's hidden gem.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

We drove past the sturdy trees around the faculty of engineering, past the vast mango-filled fields around the female hostels.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Her parental father and his family retinue, large and small, married and unmarried, were hosteled on the 12th floor of the Waldorf.

From Epistles from Pap: Letters from the man known as 'The Will Rogers of Indiana' by Douglas (Douglas N.) Hay

Created last year, the place represents a subtrend in haute hosteling: an offsite annex of swish private rooms set up by an established traditional hostel — in this case the Violeta Hostel.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2013

When “Should I Stay or Should I Go” blasted from the sound system, it summarized my ambivalence toward the hostel — and about the haute hosteling concept in general.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2013

In fact he devoted a whole chapter of his guide to hostelling.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2018

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Related Words

• hotel
• inn

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