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. be my guest informal.
   do as you like

verb

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

   to guest on a show

Other Words From

• guestless 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

Early chatter around the lineup has Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott and Green Day as possible headliners and top guests.

From Los Angeles Times

She’d already ordered her vases online, and she wasn’t willing to spend the thousands of dollars she’d been quoted to have someone else prepare all the flowers for the wedding and reception with 28 guests.

From Los Angeles Times

It featured a styling suite, where Marquez styled special guests and athletes in the new collection, along with custom pieces she made in collaboration with Sailor D. Gonzales and Rusty Reconstructed.

From Los Angeles Times

Singapore established itself as a magnet for corporate guests after it entered the calendar in 2008.

From BBC

IHG, the owner of the Holiday Inn brand, declined to comment when approached about riot compensation but has previously said its priority was "the safety and security of our guests and colleagues".

From BBC

Related Words

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