a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere.
Who was the host at last night's dinner party?
a master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program, podcast, online chat space, or the like.
a city, country, company, or the like that provides services and resources for a convention or sporting event, visiting personnel, etc..
Our city is proposing to serve as host for the Winter Olympics.
the owner or manager of an inn, bed-and-breakfast, restaurant, etc.
Computers, Digital Technology.
Also called host computer. a computer, often a mainframe, that stores, maintains, or controls access to a database, application, printer, etc., for other computers through a network connection; server.
The new data should be rapidly uploadable from the terminal to the host.
an organization that maintains, controls, or provides access to a website, email service, etc., via the internet.
someone who initiates a computer game, videoconference, or the like on their computer or device, inviting and allowing others to participate on their own devices and sometimes controlling certain aspects of the event.
Once you’ve logged in to the meeting with the password, wait for the host to admit you.
Biology. a living organism that is the source of nutrition for a parasite or that is the dominant partner in a symbiotic relationship with another organism.
The virus uses the host’s cellular machinery for several steps of its life cycle.
Surgery. the recipient of a graft or of a transplanted organ, tissue, etc.
relating to or being a city, country, company, or the like that provides services and resources for a convention or sporting event, visiting personnel, etc..
International aid organizations must follow the laws and advisories of each host country where they work.
Computers, Digital Technology. relating to or being a computer that stores, maintains, or controls access to a database, application, printer, etc., for other computers through a network connection.
The host PC runs the company’s documentation software, but employees can download and upload the files from their own computers.
Biology. relating to or being a living organism that is the source of nutrition for a parasite or that is the dominant partner in a symbiotic relationship with another organism.
Exposure to altitude may disrupt the symbiosis between the host animal and its normal intestinal flora.
to provide or arrange the venue for or receive guests at (a dinner, reception, etc.).
He hosted a reception for new members.
to receive and entertain (one or more guests).
The vice president hosted the foreign dignitaries during their visit.
to act as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for.
She hosts a popular talk show.
Computers, Digital Technology.
(of a computer) to store, maintain, or control (a database, application, printer, etc.) to which other computers have access through a network connection.
The office server hosts the entire integrated sales and inventory system for all the workstations.
to maintain or control and provide access to (a website, email service, etc.) via the internet.
Who hosts your website, and how much do they charge?
to initiate (a computer game, videoconference, or the like) on one’s computer or device, inviting and allowing others to participate on their own devices and sometimes controlling certain aspects of the event.
I'm hosting a multiplayer game tonight if you want to join.
a great number; multitude
an archaic word for army
a person who receives or entertains guests, esp in his own home
a country or organization which provides facilities for and receives visitors to an event
( as modifier )
the host nation
the compere of a show or television programme
biology
an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite
an animal, esp an embryo, into which tissue is experimentally grafted
computing a computer connected to a network and providing facilities to other computers and their users
the owner or manager of an inn
to be the host of (a party, programme, etc)
to host one's own show
informal (tr) to leave (a restaurant) without paying the bill
The larger of two organisms in a symbiotic relationship.
An organism or cell on or in which a parasite lives or feeds. ◆ A definitive host is an organism in which a parasite reaches sexual maturity. The anopheles mosquito is the definitive host for the malaria plasmodium because, while the mosquito is not adversely affected by the plasmodium's presence, it is the organism in which the plasmodium matures and reproduces. ◆ An intermediate host is an organism in which a parasite develops but does not attain sexual maturity. Humans and certain other vertebrates are the intermediate host of the malaria plasmodium. ◆ A paratenic host is an organism which may be required for the completion of a parasite's life cycle but in which no development of the parasite occurs. The unhatched eggs of nematodes are sometimes carried in a paratenic host such as a bird or rodent. When a predator eats the paratenic host, the eggs are ingested as well.
The recipient of a transplanted tissue or organ.
A computer containing data or programs that another computer can access by means of a network or modem.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun (h)oste, ost(e), from Old French (h)oste, from Latin hospit-, stem of hospes “host, guest, stranger,” perhaps from hosti-pot(i)s or hos-pot(i)s (unrecorded) “one granting hospitality, one in charge of guests,” from hostis “foreigner, stranger, enemy” + -pot(is), suffix akin to adjective potis “having the power to” ( see potent 1); see also hospodar ( def. )
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (h)oste, ost(e), from Old French, from Latin hostis “stranger, enemy”; akin to guest; cf. host 1 ( def. )
1275–1325; Middle English hoste < Late Latin hostia Eucharistic wafer ( Latin: victim, sacrifice); replacing Middle English oyst < Middle French oiste < Late Latin, as above
If you've invited people over, offered to entertain, or let someone crash on your couch, then you're a host. Throw a fabulous party and you’ll be everyone’s favorite host. Do it when you're also hosting pneumonia germs, and your guests won't be so grateful. The noun host refers to a person who receives and entertains guests. But hosting also has an ickier side: In biology, a host is an animal, plant or person that provides a home for another organism — like a parasite. Host also functions as a noun, meaning a multitude, horde, or great number. As in, "You will pick up a host of funky germs from drinking the water in rural India."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They hung it in their apartment, soon to host their Saturday evening salons for artists and writers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
As host of The Traitors, Winkleman was ideally placed to introduce the pair, resulting the kind of wonderfully bizarre meeting of minds normally seen on The Graham Norton Show.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Getting to know the Slatesters behind the mic: Unwind with this casual conversation between What Next: TBD host Lizzie O’Leary and producer Rob Gunther.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
That means developers can download, customize and host the model locally.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The patriotism of her young flight crews would be an inspiration to women serving the Motherland in a host of less glamorous roles—as snipers, tank drivers, antiaircraft machine gunners, technicians, cooks, or launderers.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Host President Emmanuel Macron wants to advance a packed agenda of sensitive topics ranging from limiting global economic imbalances to increasing control in the digital sphere, notably AI.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Hodgett reported that he “received an invitation from The National Prayer Breakfast Host Committee.”
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Before quickly clarifying: "Well, the intro to Talk Show Host."
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
“Let’s all together, as one great rising cluster, try, together, to accomplish one thing,” says the Host.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
His face bathed in tears, all of his arrogant de-fenses gone, he said: “Sometime, Father, when you say Mass, will you take the white Host for Christophe?”
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Three Airbnb hosts reveal their rates during the soccer frenzy and their lessons learned ahead of the LA28 Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Jordan and Israel are widely seen as the likely hosts for these aircraft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Southampton hosts one of the numerous government-backed trials around England.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
A site for Iranian oil exports since 1987, it also hosts a military base.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The reluctant hosts talked no more of the Lincoln assassination.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
The university hosted tournaments earlier in the week before sending out the email, and no one has had major complaints about how the greens played, employees and golfers say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
It’s hosted by Los Desterrados, or “the uprooted,” a group made up of former Chavez Ravine residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The country had hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics and sought to put its decades of brutal military rule behind it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The public register will be hosted on the website of the Courts Service, and victims and survivors will be required to provide consent before the convicted person can be named on the register.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Even when Mrs. Chavez hosted my ninth birthday party, it was spoiled by Amelia wearing the outfit my mother had given me.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
The fire has "surpassed all possible and imaginable limits," said Mar Nicolas, mayor of the nearby small town of Brunete, which is hosting around a hundred evacuees.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Sherland promoted Burns' work by attending formal events, hosting school poetry competitions and speaking at Holyrood's Cross-Party Group on the Scots Language, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lower Saxony is a shareholder in the Volkswagen Group and holds 20 percent of the voting rights in addition to hosting six Volkswagen plants.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
The competition, which Hayward has been hosting since 1960, brings people from across America and around the world together to showcase their skills in everything from logrolling, chopping and sawing to speed climbing.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Papa is hosting a church council meeting today,” Jaja said.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions 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.
