hostess

American  

[hoh-stis] / ˈhoʊ stɪs /

noun

hostesses plural

1. a woman who receives and entertains guests in her own home or elsewhere.

2. a woman employed in a restaurant or place of amusement to receive, seat, or assist patrons.

3. a woman who acts as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program; host.

4. 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.

5. a woman who manages a resort or hotel or who directs its social activities.

6. taxi dancer.

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verb (used with object)

1. to be the hostess at (a reception, dinner, etc.).

   She will hostess a shower for the new bride.

2. to act as hostess at, to, or for.

   She volunteered to hostess the garden club next season.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the duties or functions of a hostess.

hostess British  

/ ˈhəʊstɪs /

noun

1. a woman acting as host

2. a woman who receives and entertains patrons of a club, restaurant, etc

3. See air hostess

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Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hostess-ship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hostesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hostess

1250–1300; Middle English ( h ) ostesse < Old French. See host ¹, -ess

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hostess hostesses

The hostess working the front desk at the bar compliments my hair, which, to be honest, is in desperate need of a cut.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

It’s been 101 years since Virginia Woolf first published “Mrs Dalloway,” a novel about persnickety party hostess Clarissa Dalloway colliding with her former lovers, one male and one female.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

The 72-year-old said he had been hugely surprised to have his directorial debut, which stars his daughter Ella Bleu as an air hostess, accepted at the world's most prestigious film festival.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

At Auric Room 1915 in Montana, guests are required to dump their devices into an old nail box at the hostess stand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

The hostess, a smaller blond woman, reached toward the stacks of menus next to her and asked if the boys wanted crayons.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

“The program was started to bring the hostesses to work so that they wouldn’t show up in cars,” McKinney said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

These nightclubs were frequented by activists, diplomats, politicians, air hostesses and young people.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2023

The complaint states that the plaintiff and other hostesses reported the incident to supervisors, who said they would investigate and provide updates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

Washington has its famed political hostesses — Sally Quinn, Pamela Harriman — but latter-day New York has lacked for gatherers.

From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2022

I described the glittering casinos and the glamorous high rollers, the palm trees and the swimming pools, the hotels with ice-cold air-conditioning and the restaurants where hostesses with long white gloves fit flaming desserts.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls