hostel

American  

[hos-tl] / ˈhɒs tl /

noun

hostels plural

1. Also called youth hostel.  an inexpensive, supervised lodging place for young people on bicycle trips, hikes, etc.

2. (formerly) a residence for the exclusive use of boarding Indigenous students, separate from but close to any of a series of day schools in northern Canada that were operated or funded by the federal government and were themselves open to students of any ethnicity.

3. British. a student residence at a university or boarding school.

4. an inn.

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verb (used without object)

hosteled, hosteling, hostelled, hostelling

1. to travel, lodging each night at a hostel.

hostel British  

/ ˈhɒstəl /

noun

1. a building providing overnight accommodation, as for the homeless, etc

2. See youth hostel

3. a supervised lodging house for nurses, workers, etc

4. archaic another word for hostelry

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hostels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hostel

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English (h)ostel, from Old French, from Late Latin hospitāle “guest room”; see hospital

Explanation

If you backpack around Europe and are traveling on a budget, you will probably want to stay in a hostel, an inexpensive lodging made typically for young travelers willing to sleep in dorms. The word hostel comes from the Latin hospitale meaning "inn, large house." Think of a hostel as an inn for students or young people. Often you can stay in one of these places for relatively little money because multiple beds are in one room and you share the bathroom with other guests. If you want to meet traveling students, you could try opening a youth hostel in your home town.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hostel hostels hosteled hosteling hostelling

Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were among six people who died at a hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

He ended up as a trishaw rider in Thailand in the 1950s, living in a hostel with other Chinese migrants and sending letters filled with longing to his wife and children back home.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

Her mother and grandmother are still living in a hostel seven years later -- just two of the many thousands of people evacuated from ruined buildings to cramped temporary lodgings.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Nearby, a woman wept as she embraced a framed picture of her deceased relatives, while another family scattered rose petals at the ruins of the hostel in honour of their son.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Now, in the youth hostel, Jule put down Our Mutual Friend.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Those staying in hotels, self-catering apartments, holiday lets such as AirBnbs, aparthotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and hostels are all eligible.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

There are dozens of accommodation options too, from hostels to brand new luxury getaways advertising the area as Morocco's hidden gem.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

The first U.S. case of Andes virus actually occurred in January 2018, in a woman who had stayed in cabins and youth hostels in the Andes region of Argentina and Chile.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

"Every day our services hear from families who are stuck in grotty hostels and one-room B&Bs, where mould climbs the walls and children are boxed into tiny spaces with no privacy or room to play."

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

We drove past the sturdy trees around the faculty of engineering, past the vast mango-filled fields around the female hostels.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Her parental father and his family retinue, large and small, married and unmarried, were hosteled on the 12th floor of the Waldorf.

From Epistles from Pap: Letters from the man known as 'The Will Rogers of Indiana' by Hay, Douglas (Douglas N.)

When “Should I Stay or Should I Go” blasted from the sound system, it summarized my ambivalence toward the hostel — and about the haute hosteling concept in general.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2013

Created last year, the place represents a subtrend in haute hosteling: an offsite annex of swish private rooms set up by an established traditional hostel — in this case the Violeta Hostel.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2013

In fact he devoted a whole chapter of his guide to hostelling.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2018

Related Words

• hotel
• inn