host

1
[ hohst ]
See synonyms for host on Thesaurus.com
noun

  1. a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere: the host at a theater party.

  2. a master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program.

  1. a person, place, company, or the like, that provides services, resources, etc., as for a convention or sporting event: Our city would like to serve as host for the next Winter Olympics.

  2. the landlord of an inn.

  3. a living animal or plant from which a parasite obtains nutrition.

  4. Surgery. the recipient of a graft.: Compare donor (def. 2).

verb (used with object)

  1. to be the host at (a dinner, reception, etc.): He hosted a reception for new members.

  2. to act as host to: The vice president hosted the foreign dignitaries during their visit.

  1. to act as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for: to host a popular talk show.

verb (used without object)

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

Origin of host

1
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 unrecorded hosti-pot(i)s or hos-pot(i)s, equivalent to hos(ti)- combining form of hostis “foreigner, stranger, enemy” + -pot(is) suffix akin to adjective potis “having the power to,” and posse “to be able” (see potent1); hence, “one granting hospitality, one in charge of guests”; see also hospodar; compare, with different initial elements, Lithuanian viẽšpats “lord,” and Greek despótēs “master (of the house), lord, despot ”

Other words from host

  • hostless, adjective
  • hostship, noun

Other definitions for host (2 of 3)

host2
[ hohst ]
noun

  1. a multitude or great number of persons or things: a host of details.

  2. an army.

Origin of host

2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (h)oste, ost(e), from Old French, from Latin hostis “stranger, enemy”; akin to guest;cf. host1

Other words for host

Other definitions for Host (3 of 3)

Host
[ hohst ]
nounEcclesiastical.

  1. the bread or wafer consecrated in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Origin of Host

3
1275–1325; Middle English hoste<Late Latin hostia Eucharistic wafer (Latin: victim, sacrifice); replacing Middle English oyst<Middle French oiste<Late Latin, as above

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use host in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for host (1 of 3)

host1

/ (həʊst) /

noun

  1. 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

  1. the compere of a show or television programme

  2. biology

    • an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite

    • an animal, esp an embryo, into which tissue is experimentally grafted

  3. computing a computer connected to a network and providing facilities to other computers and their users

  4. the owner or manager of an inn

verb

  1. to be the host of (a party, programme, etc): to host one's own show

  2. (tr) US informal to leave (a restaurant) without paying the bill

Origin of host

1
C13: from French hoste, from Latin hospes guest, foreigner, from hostis enemy

British Dictionary definitions for host (2 of 3)

host2

/ (həʊst) /

noun

  1. a great number; multitude

  2. an archaic word for army

Origin of host

2
C13: from Old French hoste, from Latin hostis stranger, enemy

British Dictionary definitions for Host (3 of 3)

Host

/ (həʊst) /

noun

  1. the bread consecrated in the Eucharist

Origin of Host

3
C14: from Old French oiste, from Latin hostia victim

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for host

host

[ hōst ]

    • 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.

  2. The recipient of a transplanted tissue or organ.

  1. A computer containing data or programs that another computer can access by means of a network or modem.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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