ghost
Americannoun
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ghosts
plural
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the soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined, usually as a vague, shadowy or evanescent form, as wandering among or haunting living persons.
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a mere shadow or semblance; a trace.
He's a ghost of his former self.
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a remote possibility.
He hasn't a ghost of a chance.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) a spiritual being.
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Informal. ghostwriter.
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a secondary image, especially one appearing on a television screen as a white shadow, caused by poor or double reception or by a defect in the receiver.
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Also called ghost image. Photography. a faint secondary or out-of-focus image in a photographic print or negative resulting from reflections within the camera lens.
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an oral word game in which each player in rotation adds a letter to those supplied by preceding players, the object being to avoid ending a word.
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Optics. a series of false spectral lines produced by a diffraction grating with unevenly spaced lines.
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Metalworking. a streak appearing on a freshly machined piece of steel containing impurities.
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a red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
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a fictitious employee, business, etc., fabricated especially for the purpose of manipulating funds or avoiding taxes.
Investigation showed a payroll full of ghosts.
verb (used with object)
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ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
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ghosted,
past participle, past
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ghosting
present participle
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to ghostwrite (a book, speech, etc.).
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to haunt.
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Engraving. to lighten the background of (a photograph) before engraving.
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Informal.
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to suddenly end all contact with (a person) without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
The guy I’ve been dating ghosted me.
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to leave (a social event or gathering) suddenly without saying goodbye.
My friend ghosted my birthday party.
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Digital Technology. to remove (comments, threads, or other digital content) from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
verb (used without object)
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ghosts,
present (3rd person singular)
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ghosted,
past participle, past
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ghosting
present participle
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to ghostwrite.
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to go about or move like a ghost.
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(of a sailing vessel) to move when there is no perceptible wind.
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to pay people for work not performed, especially as a way of manipulating funds.
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Informal.
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to suddenly end all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.
They dated for a month and then she ghosted.
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to leave a social event or gathering suddenly without saying goodbye.
I'm getting tired so I think I might just ghost.
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Digital Technology. to remove comments, threads, or other digital content from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster.
adjective
idioms
noun
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the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantom
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a haunting memory
the ghost of his former life rose up before him
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a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmer
a ghost of a smile
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the spirit; soul (archaic, except in the phrase the Holy Ghost )
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physics
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a faint secondary image produced by an optical system
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a similar image on a television screen, formed by reflection of the transmitting waves or by a defect in the receiver
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See ghost word
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Also called: ghost edition. an entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists
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Another name for ghostwriter See ghostwrite
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(modifier) falsely recorded as doing a particular job or fulfilling a particular function in order that some benefit, esp money, may be obtained
a ghost worker
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to die
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(of a machine) to stop working
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verb
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See ghostwrite
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(tr) to haunt
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(intr) to move effortlessly and smoothly, esp unnoticed
he ghosted into the penalty area
Synonym Usage
Ghost, specter, spirit all refer to the disembodied soul of a person. A ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person, which appears or otherwise makes its presence known to the living: the ghost of a drowned child. A specter is a ghost or apparition of more or less weird, unearthly, or terrifying aspect: a frightening specter. Spirit is often interchangeable with ghost but may mean a supernatural being, usually with an indication of good or malign intent toward human beings: the spirit of a friend; an evil spirit.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ghostsimple
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ghostssimple
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have ghostedperfect
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has ghostedperfect
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am ghostingprogressive
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are ghostingprogressive
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is ghostingprogressive
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have been ghostingperfect progressive
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has been ghostingperfect progressive
Past
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ghostedsimple
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had ghostedperfect
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was ghostingprogressive
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were ghostingprogressive
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had been ghostingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ghost
First recorded before 900; Middle English goost (noun), Old English gāst; cognate with German Geist spirit
Explanation
A ghost is the spirit of a person who's died. In most stories and myths, ghosts are pale, translucent, and wispy. Throughout history, the idea that a person's soul or spirit can remain visible after her death has been common. Some of us long to see the ghost of a loved relative, while others are terrified of the very idea. From this main idea, the word ghost has also come to mean the hint or shade of something: "The ghost of a smile remained on her lips." The Old English root is gast, "spirit," and also "breath."
Vocabulary lists containing ghost
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Around 19% of jobs advertised on digital job boards in the second quarter were ghost jobs, according to Greenhouse, a hiring platform that examined its clients’ job postings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"It's a ghost town," says Tiffany, a mother of one, who we meet at a local parent and toddler group.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Poltergeist” was, notably, a summertime Amblin release that similarly riffed on classic creature scares — updating dusty, old ghost tropes with new ideas — much like Mitchell does with his dino-time-travel extravaganza.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
“I call that ghost approval. Technically, you approved it,” Herres said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
His popular ghost, along with that of other well-known Americans like Thomas Paine and George Washington, regularly appeared at séances for years to come.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
"Criminals are like ghosts," he said, in a low voice.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Within its pages, the reader becomes one of Dan Tana’s beloved ghosts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Hamilton was clearly not willing to dig up the ghosts of a race that still haunts him, but said: "Yeah, same as George said. Not really much more to add."
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Here, he realizes a triptych of vivid musical postcards recalling the American past: “The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common,” a hazy conjuring of Civil War ghosts embodied by a memorial to Col.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Why was I chasing down ghosts like this?
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
“Between ghost jobs and being ghosted, it was infuriating,” she said — referring to “ghost job” listings for positions that are either already filled or don’t really exist.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
It was a bit of a buzzkill, so I just gave up on him — and ghosted him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
“The other was for a retail position at a local Kohl’s, which ghosted me.”
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Drean picked up Ramos's crossfield kick in acres of space to score before Gailleton ghosted in for the final try.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
“You won’t. That’s why you ghosted on him?”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
“The ghosting thing is a very real problem,” he said — adding that hasn’t seen any evidence that a cover letter improves the chances of a response for GigHQ users.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
I matched with a Glen Powell type again, 10 years after ghosting him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
But in 2026, not a single Hollywood blockbuster is programmed there, raising questions about why US studios are ghosting the event.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
In modern slang it’s ghosting, or merely ducking out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
It had been such a rainy May, and the basement felt appropriately cryptlike: cobwebs around the doorframe ghosting our faces, that smell of dirt and rot and trapped air, and it was dark, totally dark.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
