guest

¹

[gest]

noun

1. a person who spends some time at another person's home in some social activity, as a visit, dinner, or party.

   Synonyms: company

2. a person who receives the hospitality of a club, a city, or the like.

3. a person who patronizes a hotel, restaurant, etc., for the lodging, food, or entertainment it provides.

4. an often well-known person invited to participate or perform in a regular program, series, etc., as a substitute for a regular member or as a special attraction.

5. Zoology.,  an inquiline.

verb (used with object)

1. to entertain as a guest.

verb (used without object)

1. to be a guest; make an appearance as a guest.

   She's been guesting on all the TV talk shows.

adjective

1. provided for or done by a guest.

   a guest towel; a guest column for a newspaper.

2. participating or performing as a guest.

   a guest conductor.

Guest

²

[gest]

noun

1. Edgar A(lbert), 1881–1959, U.S. journalist and writer of verse, born in England.

guest

/ ɡɛst /

noun

1. a person who is entertained, taken out to eat, etc, and paid for by another

2. 1. a person who receives hospitality at the home of another

      a weekend guest

   2. ( as modifier )

      the guest room

3. 1. a person who receives the hospitality of a government, establishment, or organization

   2. ( as modifier )

      a guest speaker

4. 1. an actor, contestant, entertainer, etc, taking part as a visitor in a programme in which there are also regular participants

   2. ( as modifier )

      a guest appearance

5. a patron of a hotel, boarding house, restaurant, etc

6. zoology a nontechnical name for inquiline

7. informal,  do as you like

verb

1. (intr) (in theatre and broadcasting) to be a guest

   to guest on a show

Other Word Forms

• guestless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of guest¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English gest, from Old Norse gestr; replacing Old English gi(e)st; cognate with German Gast, Gothic gasts, Latin hostis; host ¹, host ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of guest¹

Old English giest guest, stranger, enemy; related to Old Norse gestr, Gothic gasts, Old High German gast, Old Slavonic gostǐ, Latin hostis enemy

Idioms and Phrases

see be my guest.

Synonym Study

See visitor.

Example Sentences

“I went to them and said, ‘Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?’” says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities.

From Los Angeles Times

A Ventura County naval base wants its neighbors to know they’re going to host some guests — and things might get loud over the next few weeks.

From Los Angeles Times

“We apologize to our guests for any inconvenience this may cause and will reach out to those with affected reservations to notify them of their options, including a refund,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

It will also pose a challenge to “Face the Nation” producers who already operate in an environment where real-time fact checking can’t always keep up with the misinformation presented by guests on the program.

From Los Angeles Times

As one guest put it, “It feels like a test case for Elon Musk’s first colony on Mars.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• caller 
• client 
• companion 
• customer 
• inmate 
• patron 
• recipient 
• tenant 
• vacationer 
• visitor