guest

¹ American  

[gest] / gɛst /

noun

1. a person who spends some time at another person's home in some social activity, as a visit, dinner, or party.

   Synonyms:

   company

2. a person who receives the hospitality of a club, a city, or the like.

3. a person who patronizes a hotel, restaurant, etc., for the lodging, food, or entertainment it provides.

4. 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.

5. Zoology. an inquiline.

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verb (used with object)

1. to entertain as a guest.

verb (used without object)

1. to be a guest; make an appearance as a guest.

   She's been guesting on all the TV talk shows.

adjective

1. provided for or done by a guest.

   a guest towel; a guest column for a newspaper.

2. participating or performing as a guest.

   a guest conductor.

Guest ² American  

[gest] / gɛst /

noun

1. Edgar A(lbert), 1881–1959, U.S. journalist and writer of verse, born in England.

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guest British  

/ ɡɛst /

noun

1. a person who is entertained, taken out to eat, etc, and paid for by another

2. 1. a person who receives hospitality at the home of another

      a weekend guest

   2. ( as modifier )

      the guest room

3. 1. a person who receives the hospitality of a government, establishment, or organization

   2. ( as modifier )

      a guest speaker

4. 1. an actor, contestant, entertainer, etc, taking part as a visitor in a programme in which there are also regular participants

   2. ( as modifier )

      a guest appearance

5. a patron of a hotel, boarding house, restaurant, etc

6. zoology a nontechnical name for inquiline

7. informal do as you like

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verb

1. (intr) (in theatre and broadcasting) to be a guest

   to guest on a show

guest Idioms  

1. see be my guest.

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Related Words

See visitor.

Other Word Forms

• guestless adjective

Etymology

Origin of guest

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

Example Sentences

His official biography on the Downing Street website says apart from rodent control: "Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality."

From Barron's

He returned to the soap for several episodes between 2005-2006, before again making a comeback in 2016 for a number of guest appearances.

From BBC

Bowman currently hosts podcast Soundtracking, in which she interviews guests about music and film.

From BBC

She also joked that guests should not start stealing stuff from her set.

From Los Angeles Times

By day he joined guests, mainly Western tourists, in pool sessions of aerobics and water polo, while at night he helped stage dance shows and quizzes.

From BBC

Related Words

• caller
• client
• companion
• customer
• inmate
• patron
• recipient
• tenant
• vacationer
• visitor