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

Saturday night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Opera revived a lavish production of Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” written two years earlier than “The Stone Guest.”

From Los Angeles Times

In a post this week on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a meme alleging that “the celebrities coming out to support Kamala Harris” were on all the “Epstein Guest List.”

From Salon

Guest musician Michael Ward-Bergeman plays the electric accordion with pedals, which can make it sound like a church organ.

From Los Angeles Times

Guests interact with Disney characters aboard, hear talks from animators, eat at themed restaurants, and watch Disney stage productions.

From Los Angeles Times

Guests talked about celebrating Welsh talent and how lovely it was to see faces they have worked with over the years.

From BBC

Related Words

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