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

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Etymology

Origin of hostess

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hostess hostesses

She was a witty and well-read hostess, and an acclaimed author of plays and books.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

A no-holds barred interview with US talkshow hostess Oprah Winfrey also deepened the rift.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Imagine your hostess saying she spent 10 hours making your bouillabaisse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

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

My mom put the newspaper on the hostess stand and went back into the kitchen to finish prepping.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

Speak to enough hosts and hostesses, and you soon learn how the best often share a thoughtfulness for detail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

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

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2023

“It was hard to keep hostesses at the door, because they got scared,” said Cognian, chief executive of the restaurant’s parent company, Grill Concepts Inc.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

It was a trajectory not unlike that of Gigi, the titular heroine of her 1944 novella, who climbs through Paris’s social strata, from a world of courtesans to that of society hostesses.

From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2023

He urged Chicago hostesses to hire some French chefs to improve their culinary diction.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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