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

You can always cook some stuffing outside the bird for guests who are nervous about enjoying stuffing from a stuffed bird.

From Salon

Her mother works in housekeeping, and Marta spends her days talking to guests and roaming the halls.

From Los Angeles Times

That guest worker program was launched during World War II to bring Mexican workers to America’s fields while American workers were fighting overseas, and continued to grow after the war ended.

From Los Angeles Times

Thousands of guests are also expected to visit the ship when it opens its gangway to the public for a ticketed event on 7 and 8 December.

From BBC

Public figures guest editing during Christmas and New Year is something the Radio 4 programme has done annually for more than two decades.

From BBC

Related Words

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