phantom

American  

[fan-tuhm] / ˈfæn təm /

Or fantom

noun

• phantoms
  plural

1. an apparition or specter.

2. an appearance or illusion without material substance, as a dream image, mirage, or optical illusion.

3. a person or thing of merely illusory power, status, efficacy, etc..

   the phantom of fear.

4. an illustration, part of which is given a transparent effect so as to permit representation of details otherwise hidden from view, as the inner workings of a mechanical device.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a phantom; illusory.

   a phantom sea serpent.

   Synonyms:

   imaginary

   Antonyms:

   material, real

2. Electricity. noting or pertaining to a phantom circuit.

3. named, included, or recorded but nonexistent; fictitious.

   Payroll checks were made out and cashed for phantom employees.

phantom British  

/ ˈfæntəm /

noun

1. 1. an apparition or spectre

   2. ( as modifier )

      a phantom army marching through the sky

2. the visible representation of something abstract, esp as appearing in a dream or hallucination

   phantoms of evil haunted his sleep

3. something apparently unpleasant or horrific that has no material form

4. med another name for manikin

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Synonym Usage

See apparition.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• phantomlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• phantoms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of phantom

1250–1300; Middle English fantosme < Middle French, Old French < Latin phantasma phantasm

Explanation

Look over there, across the room. Is that a phantom, some weary soul come back from the dead to haunt you? Maybe it’s a shadow, or maybe it’s a ghost. Either way, turn on a light and it’ll disappear. Hopefully. Sleeping is difficult if there’s a phantom in your room, because who can rest with ghosts around? Some phantoms are real, but phantom can also be used to mean "a trick of the mind," like hearing a person outside your window, but then realizing it’s only the phantom rustling of leaves in a tree. Phantom limb is when someone loses an arm or leg, but their brain can still feel where their limb used to be.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phantom phantoms

Within days, Pirro’s office also moved to drop misdemeanor charges against three more people accused of the same phantom vandalism.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

My guilt remains, like pain in a phantom limb, but the sofa holds us all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

As hearing ability declines, communication between the ears and brain may also become distorted, contributing to the phantom sounds associated with tinnitus.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026

“People borrow for years, and then get a 1099 for phantom gains that’s in the seven figures,” said Boersma.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

You know how some amputees can feel phantom pain in the limb they’ve lost?

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

His hope is that we “preserve more lands for the unknown, for the phantoms, for the descendants” of the great native species.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

“Why do you keep coming?” he demanded of his phantoms.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2024

In the course of this, work was also carried out on brain phantoms as a use case together with the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Zurich.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2024

When Kinsel recently began seeing visions of his late horse Yoyo running toward him, a medicine man held a ceremony to dispel the phantoms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2024

In the gloom of dawn they appear like fantasmas, phantoms, and wait—in parking lots, on street corners—looking their best, hoping for work from people who drive by.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Related Words

• hallucination