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

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

A year on, the hostel struck by the plane still stands like an open wound.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

Some passengers shared small, quadruple-occupancy cabins with strangers, complete with bunk beds reminiscent of a cut-rate youth hostel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

Eight days before Jule left for the youth hostel, she called Forrest’s cell from the London flat.

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

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

The pair left Derby in 2014 but said they were shocked to see the same people living in the homeless hostels on their return.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

In Kuta, a popular town in Mandalika, scrappy surfers' hostels have been replaced by a mosaic of chlorinated pools and plushy sunbeds, and an international school for the children of expats.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025

There were to be hostels and inns and seasonal study centers, and eventually permanent woodland villages—“self-owning” communities whose inhabitants would support themselves with cooperative “non-industrial activity” based on forestry, farming, and crafts.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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