hospitality
Americannoun
-
hospitalities
plural
-
the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
Hospitality at the hotel is fantastic, with staff who offered us refreshing drinks and comfortable chairs while we waited to check in.
-
the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.
In many cultures, hospitality plays a significant role in social interactions, as individuals are often judged by their ability to extend kindness and generosity toward others.
- Synonyms:
- friendliness, geniality, cordiality, warmth
-
the business or act of providing accommodation, food, drink, and other services to guests (often used attributively).
She has held several executive-level positions in hospitality.
This course will appeal to students who want to make a career for themselves in the hospitality industry.
noun
-
kindness in welcoming strangers or guests
-
receptiveness
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hospitality
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English hospitalite, from Middle French, from Latin hospitālitās, from hospitāli(s) “of a guest, hospitable” ( see hospital) + -tās -ty 2
Explanation
A reputation for hospitality means you're known for being kind and welcoming to visitors, which may also mean that you always have a full house at Thanksgiving. Hospitalitem is a Latin word meaning "friendliness to guests," so it's not hard to see where the word hospitality comes from. Showing hospitality involves making others feel comfortable and welcome in your home. If you're grumpy and prefer to be left alone, this word probably won't ever be used to describe you, nor are you likely headed for a career in the hospitality industry.
Vocabulary lists containing hospitality
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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.
See Examples For:
Andy Hayward, the owner and head brewer at Thames Side Brewery, a pub and live music venue in Staines, told BBC Radio Surrey that working in hospitality "is tough generally... whether it's restaurants, pubs, breweries".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
The early response has been so promising that Yun’s hospitality group, which operates two other successful restaurants in New York, sees Good Time as the first concept that could expand into multiple locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
It came close again in 2013-14, when the Chetrit family invested in another renovation but ran into opposition from the hospitality workers union Unite Here Local 11 and L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
For Achiuwa, the combination of location, wellness amenities, and luxury hospitality appears to have made the development an appealing addition to his growing property portfolio.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
The prestige of his outlandish voracity, of his immense capacity as a spendthrift, of his unprecedented hospitality went beyond the borders of the swamp and attracted the best-qualified gluttons from all along the coast.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“I would love to see us kind of have more of an F1-style approach to a race weekend and how we host hospitalities, parties, just all those things,” Hamlin said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
We were sad to leave the Senn residence, and thankful for their kind hospitalities, vowing to come soon for another visit.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was by Baron Lionel that the Rothschild hospitalities were begun on the scale on which they have since continued.
From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott
So long as a house has a roof over it, you fancy it may be available for hospitalities.
From Barrington Volume I (of II) by Charles James Lever
With this concession to the small hospitalities the boss swung his chair to face the trio.
From The Wreckers by Francis Lynde
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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.
