hostess
Americannoun
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a woman who receives and entertains guests in her own home or elsewhere.
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a woman employed in a restaurant or place of amusement to receive, seat, or assist patrons.
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a woman who acts as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program; host.
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a woman employed by an airline, railroad, bus company, etc., to see that passengers are comfortable throughout a trip, usually receiving and seating them, and sometimes serving them refreshments.
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a woman who manages a resort or hotel or who directs its social activities.
verb (used with object)
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to be the hostess at (a reception, dinner, etc.).
She will hostess a shower for the new bride.
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to act as hostess at, to, or for.
She volunteered to hostess the garden club next season.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a woman acting as host
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a woman who receives and entertains patrons of a club, restaurant, etc
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See air hostess
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hostess
1250–1300; Middle English ( h ) ostesse < Old French. See host 1, -ess
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.
Smucker’s SJM 0.14%increase; green up pointing triangle overpayment for Hostess Brands, based on excessively optimistic expectations for Twinkies, is a recent example of how that can go wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
The owner of brands such as Hostess and Folger’s posted adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.38 a share, beating analysts’ calls for $2.27.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
The policy became official in 1976 after Munson sported a full beard on his Hostess trading card.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2025
"We believe this is the right partnership to accelerate growth and create meaningful value for consumers, customers and shareholders," Hostess CEO Andy Callahan said in a statement to CNN.
From Salon • Sep. 12, 2023
Then, with as much pride as if I had baked them myself, I brought out a little surprise—two packets of Hostess cupcakes.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
