poltergeist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of poltergeist
1840–50; < German Poltergeist, equivalent to polter ( n ) to make noise, knock, rattle + Geist ghost
Explanation
When you're home alone at night and hear a mysterious noise from above, it's much more likely to be mice in your attic than a poltergeist, which is a noisy ghost. You've probably come across poltergeists in scary movies and books, and with any luck you won't encounter one in real life. Stories describe them as particularly disruptive ghosts, known for making noise and throwing things around. The roots of the word poltergeist make perfect sense: poltern means "create a disturbance" in German, and geist means "ghost."
Vocabulary lists containing poltergeist
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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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.
Diego Argoti blurs all kinds of borders — with his manic, wild cooking at Poltergeist inside Button Mash arcade in Echo Park.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2023
Robins started out as a writer, but his career took off after he created BBC podcast The Battersea Poltergeist, telling a real-life ghost story by combining drama and documentary.
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2023
I saw "Poltergeist" at a very young age.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2023
Though Poltergeist and Phobetor were the first confirmed exoplanets in history, an absolutely humongous gas giant nicknamed Tadmor was spotted in 1988 by scientists based in British Columbia.
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2022
Then there was another loud bang, and Peeves the Poltergeist appeared in midair above the wrestling elves.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
