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no-host

[ noh-hohst ]
/ ˈnoʊˌhoʊst /
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adjective Chiefly Western U.S.
requiring patrons and guests to pay a fee for attendance or to pay for any food and drink they consume:a no-host cocktail party; a no-host dinner-dance.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

MORE ABOUT NO-HOST

What does no-host mean?

No-host describes an event, such as a party, at which the guests must pay for their own food and drink or pay an entry fee.

A Western US term, no-host is almost always used in reference to a party or similar event at which attendees pay to enter or pay for any food or drink they consume. You might go to a no-host dinner, a no-host networking event, a no-host dance—any type of event that requires you to pay to enter or for food and drink or both. 

Sometimes no-host is used more literally to describe an event that lacks a host, especially an event that usually has a host. The 2019 Academy Awards didn’t have a host and was commonly described as a no-host award show. 

Example: I got invited to some fancy no-host party for Independence Day, but I don’t know if I have the money for another one of these.

Where does no-host come from?

The first records of the term no-host come from around the 1960s. It combines the terms no and host to describe an event as having no financial backer or “host.”

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What are some words that share a root or word element with no-host

What are some words that often get used in discussing no-host?

How is no-host used in real life?

No-host is usually used in the Western United States to refer to an event you have to pay a fee to attend.

 

Try using no-host!

Is no-host used correctly in the following sentence?

“The ticket price for the hospital’s no-host party was high, but some of the money will help fund the new surgery rooms.”

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