guest

1 of 2

noun

ˈgest How to pronounce guest (audio)
Synonyms of guestnext
1
a
: a person entertained in one's house
b
: a person to whom hospitality is extended
c
: a person who pays for the services of an establishment (such as a hotel or restaurant)
2
: an organism (such as an insect) sharing the dwelling of another
especially : inquiline
3
: a substance that is incorporated in a host substance
4
: a usually prominent person not a regular member of a cast or organization who appears in a program or performance

guest

2 of 2

verb

guested; guesting; guests

transitive verb

: to receive as a guest

intransitive verb

: to appear as a guest

Synonyms

Noun

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of guest in a Sentence

Noun Our guests should be arriving soon. Only invited guests are allowed inside the banquet hall. He played at the country club as a guest of one of the members. Our guests receive the finest quality service. Frequent guests receive a discount.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Twice in recent months, when the check came, one of the guests has proclaimed that the group would treat the host. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024 With 40% of his guests over the age of 55, Adamolekun wants his improvements to appeal to all generations. —Maya Huter, NBC News, 11 Nov. 2024
Verb
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz will guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, the night before the election, in an interview that was taped earlier today. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2024 Mandy Gonzalez will guest star as ‘Norma Desmond’ at certain select performances. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for guest 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gest, gyst, gust, gist "person to whom hospitality is extended, visitor, stranger," going back to Old English giest, gyst, gest, gæst (with Middle English g probably in part from Old Norse gestr), going back to Germanic *gasti- (whence also Old Frisian jest "guest," Old Saxon & Old High German gast "guest, stranger," Old Norse gestr, Gothic gasts "stranger") going back to dialectal Indo-European *ghost-i- "outsider, guest," whence also Old Church Slavic gostĭ "guest," Latin hostis "foreigner, stranger" (in early use), "enemy"

Note: An etymon limited to three western Indo-European branches. Further analysis of the word has been made on the basis of early use of Latin hostis, taken to mean, on the basis of the Law of the Twelve Tables, "outsider due the same right of ownership as a Roman citizen"; from the same base would be hostus "yield of olive oil from a single pressing" (narrowed from a presumed more general "yield, compensation"), the derived verb hostīre "to recompense, requite," and the noun hostia "sacrificial animal, sacrifice" ("recompense to the gods," perhaps originally feminine of an adjective *hostius, the deleted noun having designated an animal; see host entry 3). Ancestral *ghos-ti- could hypothetically be a derivative of an Indo-European verbal base *ǵhes- "take, give in exchange." With the loss in later Roman practice of the strict legal meaning, Latin hostis became restricted in meaning to "hostile outsider, enemy." This shift is noted by varro, who remarked that hostis was used by "our ancestors" in a sense now covered by peregrīnus (see pilgrim).

Verb

Middle English gesten, derivative of gest guest entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of guest was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing guest

Dictionary Entries Near guest

guesswork

guest

Guest

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Guest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guest. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

guest

noun
ˈgest
1
: a person entertained in one's house
2
: a person to whom hospitality is given
guests at a school banquet
3
: a customer at a hotel, motel, inn, or restaurant
4
: a usually well-known person who appears or performs on a program (as a TV show) by invitation

Biographical Definition

Guest

biographical name

ˈgest How to pronounce Guest (audio)
Edgar Albert 1881–1959 American journalist and poet

More from Merriam-Webster on guest

Nglish: Translation of guest for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of guest for Arabic Speakers

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