ghost
Americannoun
-
ghosts
plural
-
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.
-
a mere shadow or semblance; a trace.
He's a ghost of his former self.
-
a remote possibility.
He hasn't a ghost of a chance.
-
(sometimes initial capital letter) a spiritual being.
-
Informal. ghostwriter.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Optics. a series of false spectral lines produced by a diffraction grating with unevenly spaced lines.
-
Metalworking. a streak appearing on a freshly machined piece of steel containing impurities.
-
a red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
-
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)
-
ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ghosted,
past participle, past
-
ghosting
present participle
-
to ghostwrite (a book, speech, etc.).
-
to haunt.
-
Engraving. to lighten the background of (a photograph) before engraving.
-
Informal.
-
to suddenly end all contact with (a person) without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
The guy I’ve been dating ghosted me.
-
to leave (a social event or gathering) suddenly without saying goodbye.
My friend ghosted my birthday party.
-
-
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)
-
ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ghosted,
past participle, past
-
ghosting
present participle
-
to ghostwrite.
-
to go about or move like a ghost.
-
(of a sailing vessel) to move when there is no perceptible wind.
-
to pay people for work not performed, especially as a way of manipulating funds.
-
Informal.
-
to suddenly end all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
They dated for a month and then she ghosted.
-
to leave a social event or gathering suddenly without saying goodbye.
I'm getting tired so I think I might just ghost.
-
-
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
-
the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantom
-
a haunting memory
the ghost of his former life rose up before him
-
a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmer
a ghost of a smile
-
the spirit; soul (archaic, except in the phrase the Holy Ghost )
-
physics
-
a faint secondary image produced by an optical system
-
a similar image on a television screen, formed by reflection of the transmitting waves or by a defect in the receiver
-
-
See ghost word
-
Also called: ghost edition. an entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists
-
Another name for ghostwriter See ghostwrite
-
(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
-
-
to die
-
(of a machine) to stop working
-
verb
-
See ghostwrite
-
(tr) to haunt
-
(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
-
ghostsimple
-
ghostssimple
-
have ghostedperfect
-
has ghostedperfect
-
am ghostingprogressive
-
are ghostingprogressive
-
is ghostingprogressive
-
have been ghostingperfect progressive
-
has been ghostingperfect progressive
Past
-
ghostedsimple
-
had ghostedperfect
-
was ghostingprogressive
-
were ghostingprogressive
-
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:
This “sprawling, multipart ghost tale,” Liz Braswell concludes, shows China Miéville “at his best.”
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
Panorama has also been repeatedly told about "ghost tenants" - individuals listed as residents but not actually living in properties, for whom managing agents still claim housing benefit.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It definitely wasn’t what had happened, because a moment later, after taking one satisfied bite of the shawarma, the ghost settled back on the bench and then vanished entirely.
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
She will be playing Liz Rich, who moved into the farmhouse with her husband Bill in 1989, claiming they saw ghosts and experienced poltergeist activity.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
We get the backstories of the ghosts, who obsessively relive their tragicomic ends.
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
The three blobs looked somewhere between frogs and ghosts and big boogers.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
When Amie tried to contact the "broker" after realising she had been scammed, she said he "ghosted" her.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
It was a bit of a buzzkill, so I just gave up on him — and ghosted him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
“The other was for a retail position at a local Kohl’s, which ghosted me.”
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
My mother ghosted me after my father died.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 19, 2025
After that, there was no trace of Anna—she’d been ghosted.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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 primary driver of the narrative is an unnamed writer who has approached a famous actor — the M of the title — with the proposition of ghosting her autobiography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 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
One of her friends pulled out of the trip and started "ghosting" her on WeChat, said the 35-year-old Chinese national, who did not want to reveal her real name.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
“Thought you were ghosting for a second,” Arthur says.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
