a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere.
Who was the host at last night's dinner party?
a master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program, podcast, online chat space, or the like.
a city, country, company, or the like that provides services and resources for a convention or sporting event, visiting personnel, etc..
Our city is proposing to serve as host for the Winter Olympics.
the owner or manager of an inn, bed-and-breakfast, restaurant, etc.
Computers, Digital Technology.
Also called host computer. a computer, often a mainframe, that stores, maintains, or controls access to a database, application, printer, etc., for other computers through a network connection; server.
The new data should be rapidly uploadable from the terminal to the host.
an organization that maintains, controls, or provides access to a website, email service, etc., via the internet.
someone who initiates a computer game, videoconference, or the like on their computer or device, inviting and allowing others to participate on their own devices and sometimes controlling certain aspects of the event.
Once you’ve logged in to the meeting with the password, wait for the host to admit you.
Biology. a living organism that is the source of nutrition for a parasite or that is the dominant partner in a symbiotic relationship with another organism.
The virus uses the host’s cellular machinery for several steps of its life cycle.
Surgery. the recipient of a graft or of a transplanted organ, tissue, etc.
relating to or being a city, country, company, or the like that provides services and resources for a convention or sporting event, visiting personnel, etc..
International aid organizations must follow the laws and advisories of each host country where they work.
Computers, Digital Technology. relating to or being a computer that stores, maintains, or controls access to a database, application, printer, etc., for other computers through a network connection.
The host PC runs the company’s documentation software, but employees can download and upload the files from their own computers.
Biology. relating to or being a living organism that is the source of nutrition for a parasite or that is the dominant partner in a symbiotic relationship with another organism.
Exposure to altitude may disrupt the symbiosis between the host animal and its normal intestinal flora.
to provide or arrange the venue for or receive guests at (a dinner, reception, etc.).
He hosted a reception for new members.
to receive and entertain (one or more guests).
The vice president hosted the foreign dignitaries during their visit.
to act as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for.
She hosts a popular talk show.
Computers, Digital Technology.
(of a computer) to store, maintain, or control (a database, application, printer, etc.) to which other computers have access through a network connection.
The office server hosts the entire integrated sales and inventory system for all the workstations.
to maintain or control and provide access to (a website, email service, etc.) via the internet.
Who hosts your website, and how much do they charge?
to initiate (a computer game, videoconference, or the like) on one’s computer or device, inviting and allowing others to participate on their own devices and sometimes controlling certain aspects of the event.
I'm hosting a multiplayer game tonight if you want to join.
a great number; multitude
an archaic word for army
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
the compere of a show or television programme
biology
an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite
an animal, esp an embryo, into which tissue is experimentally grafted
computing a computer connected to a network and providing facilities to other computers and their users
the owner or manager of an inn
to be the host of (a party, programme, etc)
to host one's own show
informal (tr) to leave (a restaurant) without paying the bill
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.
The recipient of a transplanted tissue or organ.
A computer containing data or programs that another computer can access by means of a network or modem.
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 hosti-pot(i)s or hos-pot(i)s (unrecorded) “one granting hospitality, one in charge of guests,” from hostis “foreigner, stranger, enemy” + -pot(is), suffix akin to adjective potis “having the power to” ( see potent 1); see also hospodar ( def. )
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (h)oste, ost(e), from Old French, from Latin hostis “stranger, enemy”; akin to guest; cf. host 1 ( def. )
1275–1325; Middle English hoste < Late Latin hostia Eucharistic wafer ( Latin: victim, sacrifice); replacing Middle English oyst < Middle French oiste < Late Latin, as above
If you've invited people over, offered to entertain, or let someone crash on your couch, then you're a host. Throw a fabulous party and you’ll be everyone’s favorite host. Do it when you're also hosting pneumonia germs, and your guests won't be so grateful. The noun host refers to a person who receives and entertains guests. But hosting also has an ickier side: In biology, a host is an animal, plant or person that provides a home for another organism — like a parasite. Host also functions as a noun, meaning a multitude, horde, or great number. As in, "You will pick up a host of funky germs from drinking the water in rural India."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There, rows of whirring white tanks filled with seawater host creatures like coral, giant clams and clownfish in what are meticulously controlled to resemble natural marine environments.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
That assumption began to change when scientists detected signs of a star being destroyed 2,600 light-years from the center of its host galaxy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Cardiff's Principality Stadium would welcome the opportunity to host Fury-Joshua, but the fight would have to be held on either Saturday, 31 October or Saturday, 28 November.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It won’t host an investor conference call due to the sale announcement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
She gets up and imitates the host and makes a joke in Urdu.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Host President Emmanuel Macron said the deal had in fact already been signed "electronically".
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Host Hotels & Resorts, which has properties in 10 U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Hodgett reported that he “received an invitation from The National Prayer Breakfast Host Committee.”
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
“Let’s all together, as one great rising cluster, try, together, to accomplish one thing,” says the Host.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
And suddenly the Shadow Host that had hung back at the last came up like a grey tide, sweeping all away before it.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Hugging Face, an open-source platform with downloadable AI models and data sets, hosts more than 113,000 derivatives of Qwen, an AI from the Chinese company Alibaba.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
When a president hosts a team at the White House, there is only one reason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
There was a point, after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as hosts in 2023, when some thought these Games would not happen.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The event was originally scheduled for March, but the Australian state of Victoria pulled out as hosts in 2023.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Down from the gates they roared, over the causeway they swept, and they drove through the hosts of Isengard as a wind among grass.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Trump hosted Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday for closed-door talks that the administration described as "positive and productive".
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Lacy delivered the accidental reveal while speaking with Twitch star Valkyrae, who hosted the film’s official red carpet stream.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Bristol also hosted its own Mass Wuther on College Green and Clevedon's Marine Lake, which is believed to be the only one where dancers celebrate on land and in the water at the same time.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The country had hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics and sought to put its decades of brutal military rule behind it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
—Appian According to legend, Mark Antony hosted a magnificent feast for Cleopatra and waited for praise from Egypt’s powerful queen.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
The global race to build data centres hosting AI infrastructure has seen a meteoric rise in the firm's fortunes, despite concern the sector may be overvalued in a market bubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The argument is simple: The benefits of hosting are oversold and the costs barely counted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lower Saxony is a shareholder in the Volkswagen Group and holds 20 percent of the voting rights in addition to hosting six Volkswagen plants.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Several countries have also expressed interest in hosting in 2034.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
To honor the people who had helped make my adoption possible, they were hosting a luncheon near the courthouse.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
