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

In Kim Eunho’s 1927 ink and color painting on silk, “Woman Reading the Fortune of the Day,” a hostess in traditional hanbok dress whiles away her break with gaming tiles as a cigarette smolders nearby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 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

Later, at a post-match reception at the home of a wealthy local white family, the team lined up to meet the hostess.

From BBC ● May 27, 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

He watched a couple get ushered into the restaurant, and the hostess gestured to him and Javier, letting him know they were next.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

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

After watching a documentary about bar hostesses who had organized a union, they learned that the women had drafted legislation to protect their rights.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024

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

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2023

The plaintiff and other hostesses never heard about the progress of the investigation but found out from another restaurant employee that Marcus had been “quietly terminated” in early 2022, according to the lawsuit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

As one of the church’s hostesses and secretaries, I worked in the office on a regular basis—before and after school, and on weekends—so I had the chance to observe some of these meetings firsthand.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry