a person who spends some time at another person's home in some social activity, as a visit, dinner, or party.
a person who receives the hospitality of a club, a city, or the like.
a person who patronizes a hotel, restaurant, etc., for the lodging, food, or entertainment it provides.
an often well-known person invited to participate or perform in a regular program, series, etc., as a substitute for a regular member or as a special attraction.
Zoology. an inquiline.
provided for or done by a guest.
a guest towel; a guest column for a newspaper.
participating or performing as a guest.
a guest conductor.
a person who is entertained, taken out to eat, etc, and paid for by another
a person who receives hospitality at the home of another
a weekend guest
( as modifier )
the guest room
a person who receives the hospitality of a government, establishment, or organization
( as modifier )
a guest speaker
an actor, contestant, entertainer, etc, taking part as a visitor in a programme in which there are also regular participants
( as modifier )
a guest appearance
a patron of a hotel, boarding house, restaurant, etc
zoology a nontechnical name for inquiline
informal do as you like
See visitor.
First recorded before 900; Middle English gest, from Old Norse gestr; replacing Old English gi(e)st; cognate with German Gast, Gothic gasts, Latin hostis; host 1, host 2
If you invite a friend to your home, she is your guest. You might announce to your parents that you've invited seven guests for Thanksgiving. Someone who's visiting, or who's been asked to come, is a guest. If your next door neighbor comes over for lunch, she's a guest, and every one of the two hundred people you invite to a wedding is also a guest. You're often referred to as a guest when you stay at a hotel, too. The Old English root of guest is gæst, "a stranger" or "an accidental guest."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Additional updates throughout the home include refinished hardwood floors, fresh interior paint, new carpeting, and a remodeled guest bathroom,” the description noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
During dinner, each guest is given a traditional koha, meaning gift or offering, between the starter and main course.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Bridgers also provided guest vocals on Silk Chiffon, a freewheeling sapphic love song that became Muna's breakthrough single.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The cast is principally composed of UC Irvine students, past and present, with a few guest artists in the mix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
In the evening after the last guest had gone I climbed the stairs to my room thinking only of the past.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
With Andersson and Brooke Guest together, hopes of a total in excess of 300 were high but Guest's departure for 48 began a steady stream of wickets as Andersson ultimately ran out of partners.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
This year’s hotel guest-satisfaction score on a 1,000-point scale, according to the latest North American Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study from JD Power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Guest: Sam Adams, Slate senior writer and editor.
From Slate ● Jul. 3, 2026
Guest: Cory Doctorow, sci-fi author, journalist, blogger and author of “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI.”
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
Cooter whispered back, “Whatever it is, you’s lucky Emma Collins left, ’cause she sure would’ve told Mrs. Guest you’s in here talking.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Episodes feature expert guests and range from conversations about conservation to memories of the birds that first sparked lifelong obsessions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Meghan's appearance on MasterChef Australia comes after her own lifestyle and cookery show, With Love, Meghan, which sees her share cooking and hosting tips with friends and guests.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
"If you respect your guests, nothing will die out."
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump told the roughly 700 guests gathered under heightened security at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria, where the annual dinner was rescheduled after the April shooting.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
She called for the table to be readied for as many as forty guests when the president returned.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Gorsuch spoke at the presidential libraries of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and guested on Firing Line, a PBS opinion show hosted by the conservative commentator Margaret Hoover.
From Slate ● Oct. 4, 2024
Last year, Marty guested as himself in an episode of Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things,” “Rip Taylor’s Cell Phone,” in which Adlon’s character spots Marty, in a “Land of the Lost” windbreaker, at the supermarket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2023
"Richard Belzer was one of the most kindest and welcoming actors when I guested on two episodes of Law and Order: SVU," tweeted Marlee Matlin.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2023
London has frequently collaborated with the artist now known as Ye, who produced and guested on 2014′s “Vibes.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 4, 2023
Sansa remembered Lord Yohn Royce, who had guested at Winterfell two years before.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
She reminded the men that the panel they were guesting on had nothing to do with foreign policy.
From Slate ● Nov. 19, 2025
They also appeared regularly on television, making specials and guesting on various shows.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
“My day was always better for having passed through the Earwolf studios, whether it’s hosting or guesting, whatever.”
From The Verge ● Mar. 22, 2022
He’s seen some Billboard Hot 100 success as well, guesting with Drake on “Chicago Freestyle” and sending his own “Heartbreak Anniversary” to No. 16.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2021
And since his own lord had exiled him and his story went before him, none would take him in, but after the three days’ guesting all sent him from their doors as an outlaw.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
