1
: inn
2
: an inexpensive lodging facility for usually young travelers that typically has dormitory-style sleeping arrangements and sometimes offers meals and planned activities
called also youth hostel
3
chiefly British
: a supervised institutional residence or shelter (as for homeless people)
hosteled or hostelled; hosteling or hostelling
: to stay at hostels overnight in the course of traveling
Synonyms
Examples of hostel in a Sentence
Noun
in the old days, a traveler could spend the night at one of the hostels placed along the coach route
Recent Examples on the Web
Maryam Jillani, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2024
Hotels and hostels in border towns were so full that people camped out on the floors of movie theaters, mosques and railway stations.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Sep. 2018
Of course, hosteling originated as a way for young backpackers to sleep safely and comfortably without the expense of a hotel.
—Rick Steves, miamiherald, 3 May 2018
See all Example Sentences for hostel 
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Noun
Before then, the neighborhood was primarily a red-light district with a handful of pubs and hostels catering to backpackers.
—Maryam Jillani, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2024
Hotels and hostels in border towns were so full that people camped out on the floors of movie theaters, mosques and railway stations.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
Verb
That’s when the first upscale hostels appeared, determinedly different from those hosteling clichés.
—Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Sep. 2018
Of course, hosteling originated as a way for young backpackers to sleep safely and comfortably without the expense of a hotel.
—Rick Steves, miamiherald, 3 May 2018
See all Example Sentences for hostel
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Dictionary Entries Near hostel
Cite this Entry
“Hostel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostel. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
hostel
noun
hos·tel
ˈhäs-tᵊl 
chiefly British
: housing maintained by a public or private organization or institution
especially
: a rest home or rehabilitation center for the chronically ill, the aged, or the physically disabled
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