Word.ws English Dictionary

ghost

UK/ɡəʊst//ɡoʊst/

ghost noun: a disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death. Also the ellipsis of ghostwriter.

Noun

ghost (countable and uncountable, plural ghosts)

  1. A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.
    • Everyone believed that the ghost of an old lady haunted the crypt.
    • He believes in ghosts.
  2. (archaic, literary) A spirit; a human soul.
    • hen gins her grieued ghost thus to lament and mourne.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 31
    • Enlightening the eyes and a taste for hope, emotions are felt from an inward ghost.2013, Kenneth Palmer, Just Thoughts: Looking at Man's Whole Self, page 20
    Synonyms:
    essence, soul, spirit, anima
  3. (broadly) Any faint shadowy semblance; an unsubstantial image.
    • not a ghost of a chance
    • the ghost of an idea
  4. A false image, for example in a photographic print or negative, or on a television screen or radar display, or in a telescope, caused by poor or double reception or reflection (from a lens or screen).
    • There was less flicker, jitter was nonexistent, and the screen pattern had been rendered far more viewworthy, with ghosts being virtually suppressed.2007, Albert Abramson, The History of Television, 1942 to 2000, page 60
    Synonyms:
    echo
  5. (slang, cleaning) A faint image that remains after an attempt to remove graffiti.
    • Regardless of GRM used, graffiti ghosts persist. Protect cladding with surface coating or replace with graffiti resistant paint or laminate.1992, M. J. Whitford, Getting Rid of Graffiti, Routledge, →ISBN, page 45
    Synonyms:
    shadow
  6. A nonexistent person invented to obtain some (typically fraudulent) benefit.
    • Some health systems are plagued by "ghost" and "absent" workers. Ghost workers are nonexistent, listed in the payroll, and paid, a clear sign of corruption.2004, Joint Learning Initiative, Global Equity Initiative, Human Resources for Health: Overcoming the Crisis, page 76
    • 1,500 secondary schools in Jiangxi found 125 cases of illegally collected Ghosts and Absentees fees worth $2 million.2008, The Asia-Pacific Human Development Report, page 63
  7. A dead person whose identity is stolen by another (see ghosting).
  8. (Internet) An unresponsive user on IRC, resulting from the user's client disconnecting without notifying the server.
    • This will let you open a query with NickServ again so you can remove your “ghost” from the server: […]2004, Paul Mutton, IRC Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools, page 31
  9. A copy of a file or record.
    Synonyms:
    backup
  10. An understudy.
  11. A covert (and deniable) agent.
    Synonyms:
    spook, spy
  12. An opponent in a racing game that follows a previously recorded route, allowing players to compete against previous best times.
    • This is also the case for some racing games (Super Mario Kart is a good example) that allow you to compete against your ghosts, which are precise recordings of your performance.2012, Keith Burgun, Game Design Theory: A New Philosophy for Understanding Games
Show 11 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. Someone whose identity cannot be established because there are no records of such a person.
    • "[…]no record of a Robert, or Bobby, Maclain that fits our man's description," Kuzbec said. "No social, no driver's license, no address, no military service record. He's a ghost." Kirov did find that interesting.2014 August 19, Michael Sloan, The Equalizer: A Novel, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 156
    • "He's a ghost. No record of any kind, anywhere. I got nothing when I did a trace. I'm thinking he was either erased or he's something we don't know about." Nyk rubbed at his jaw. "If he was erased, Syn, he'd have a record[…]"2015 November 3, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Born of Betrayal: The League: Nemesis Rising, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN
  2. (quantum mechanics) An unphysical state in a gauge theory.
    • The proof is well known, and independent of the metric, but to make certain we prove it here also for the case when the state vector system of an operator contains multipole^([sic]) ghosts.1966, Kàzmèr L. Nagy, State Vector Spaces with Indefinite Metric in Quantum Field Theory, page 14
    • Soon after, the proof of the No-Ghost Theorem, establishing that the DRM has no ghosts if d ≤ 26, was achieved independently by Brower (1972) and by Goddard and Thorn (1972).2019, Radin Dardashti, Richard Dawid, Karim Thébault, Why Trust a Theory?, page 180
  3. (attributive) A formerly nonexistent character that was at some point mistakenly encoded into a character set standard, which might have since become used opportunistically for some genuine purpose.
    • 彁 is a ghost character from the Japanese JIS X 0208 character set.
  4. (capitalized, often, uncountable) A game in which players take turns to add a letter to a possible word, trying not to complete a word.
    • GHOST. This is a spelling game. A person gives a letter, […] his next neighbor must think of a word beginning with this letter, and then say the second letter, […]1897, Emma J. Gray, Fun for the Household: A Book of Games, page 110
    • […]word is, you win the round. But be warned : if she does have a real word in mind, you lose. Bluffing[:] It's possible to bluff in Ghost. For example, you can pretend to add a suffix to a word, even if that word doesn't exist. If no[…]2008 04, Joanne O'Sullivan, I Don't Care If We're There Yet: The Backseat Boredom Buster, Lark Books, →ISBN, page 183
  5. (attributive) White or pale.
    • ghost slug
    • ghost flower
  6. (attributive) Transparent or translucent.
    • ghost ant
    • ghost catfish
  7. (attributive) Abandoned.
    • ghost town
    • ghost ship
  8. (attributive) Remnant; remains.
    • ghost apples (a thin layer of ice in the shape of an apple, which forms around it and is left behind when the apple rots and falls out)
    • ghost fossils (impressions of things like shells that remain in the rock after the shell etc dissolves)
  9. (attributive) Perceived or listed but not real.
    • ghost cellphone vibration
    • ghost pain
  10. (attributive) Of a cryptid, supernatural or extraterrestrial nature.
    • ghost rocket
    • ghost deer
  11. (attributive) Substitute.
    • ghost writer
    • ghost singer

Adjective

ghost (not comparable)

  1. (slang, African-American Vernacular) In the form be ghost: not present or involved; absent, gone.
    • Thug held up a middle finger. "A'ight y'all. I'm ghost."2007, Abiola Abrams, Dare, page 296
    • But I don't see no competition in the game and I'm pissing on it
      If it ain't about the family, then I'm ghost and that's a promise2019, “Going Through It” (track 6), in Ignorance Is Bliss, performed by Skepta

Verb

ghost (third-person singular simple present ghosts, present participle ghosting, simple past and past participle ghosted)

  1. (literary, poetic, transitive) Of a disembodied soul: to appear (somewhere or to someone) in the form of an apparition; to haunt.
    • since Julius Caesar, / Who at Philippi the good Brutus ghostedc. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  2. (literary, poetic, transitive) To imbue (something) with a ghost-like effect or hue.
    • It spread slowly up from the sea-rim, a welling upwards of pure white light, ghosting the beach with silver and drawing the grey bastions of sandstone out of formless space.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 32
  3. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) To continuously cause (someone or something) trouble; specifically, to continuously be in the thoughts of (someone) in a disturbing manner; to perturb, to trouble.
  4. (broadly, figuratively, slang, transitive) To kill (someone).
    • My recommendation: Do me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv-happy on your wannabe ass. Ghost me, Riddick. Would if I were you. Though I notice he tried to ghost my ass. When he shot up that stranger instead.2000, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy, Pitch Black (film)
    • He just ghosted two guys, and I never even saw him. Plan was to clean the bank, ghost the mercs, break wide through the tunnel.2004, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, David Twohy, The Chronicles of Riddick (film)
  5. (broadly, figuratively, transitive) To gray out (a visual element) to indicate that it is unavailable.
    • Whenever a menu or menu item is inappropriate or unavailable for selection, it should be ghosted. Never allow the user to select something that does nothing in response.1991, Amiga User Interface Style Guide, page 76
  6. (Internet, broadly, figuratively, transitive) To forcibly disconnect (an IRC user) who is using one's reserved nickname.
    • I'm so untechnical that I once ghosted a registered IRC nick and then tried to identify myself to NickServ with the valid password before actually changing my nick to the aforementioned moniker.2001, Luke, “to leave (vb.): Hurg [OT]”, in alt.games.lucas-arts.monkey-island (Usenet)
  7. (broadly, figuratively, slang, transitive, chiefly social media) To stop communicating with (someone) on social media, through text messages, etc., without explanation, especially as a way of ending a relationship; hence, to end a relationship with (someone) by stopping all communication without explanation.
    • I've recently been trying out Tinder, and while I match with people and even chat with them everything seems to be going well, but whenever I bring up meeting IRL, they are quick to ghost me.2015 October 15, “Why is it so hard to go from chatting on Tinder to meeting up in real life?”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2016
    • By 6 p.m., I had a list of restaurants to try from Hamish, a chef who couldn't meet, a follow-up from Adam ("I've never seen a room at the Ace...."), and an offer from Agoraphobic Paul to come over and "have a joint and a cuddle." I'd confirmed a walking tour of Greenwich from Max, who ghosted.2016 March 21, Allison P. Davies, “What I Learned Tindering My Way Across Europe”, in Travel + Leisure, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2018
  8. (UK, broadly, figuratively, transitive) To transfer (a prisoner) to another prison, usually without first informing the prisoner.
    • His power base, however, is undermined by him being constantly, “ghosted”, or moved from prison to prison.2020, Jamie Bennett, Victoria Knight, Prisoners on Prison Films, page 26
  9. (transitive) Synonym of ghostwrite (“to write (a literary work or speech), or produce (an artistic work)), in the place of someone”); also, to carry out (an artistic performance) in the place of someone.
    • Here's how it went: Larry Parks as elderly Al Jolson was watching Larry Parks playing young Al Jolson in the first movie — in other words, Parks ghosting for Parks. At the same time, Jolson himself was ghosting the voices for both of them.1955, Saturday Review (volume 38, part 2, page 27)
    • Well, you wrote a few books, you wrote a famous play, and even that was half ghosted.1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 41
    Synonyms:
    ghostwrite
  10. (intransitive) To appear suddenly or move like a disembodied soul; specifically (often sports); also (transitive, dated) followed by the dummy subject it: to move easily and quietly without anyone noticing; to slip.
    • Arsenal came into the match under severe pressure and nerves were palpable early on as Pratley was brilliantly denied by Szczesny after ghosting in front of Kieran Gibbs2011 September 24, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport
    • At the flank of the main stage, I took root for an hour, until a female form ghosted in front of me that I recognised from university two years before.2011, Mark Harnden, In the Dark Backyard, →ISBN, page 59
  11. (intransitive) Followed by for: synonym of ghostwrite (“to write a literary work or speech, or produce an artistic work, in the place of someone”); also, to carry out an artistic performance in the place of someone.
  12. (intransitive) Of a sailing vessel: to sail seemingly with very little or no wind.
    • They move without any visible sign of movement, like a wakeless ship ghosting over the water.2016, Nathanael Johnson, Unseen City, →ISBN, page 192
  13. (intransitive, obsolete) Apparently only in the writings of the Dutch-English physician Gideon Harvey (c. 1636–1640 – c. 1700–1702): to die, to expire.

Also used as

ghost is also the ellipsis of ghostwriter.

ghost is also the ellipsis of ghost pepper.

ghost meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

ghost in Hindi

spirit appearing after death
भूत bhūt, आत्मा ātmā, प्रेत pret, छाया chāyā, रूह rūh, पिशाच piśāc
faint shadowy semblance
प्रेत pret, पिशाच piśāc, भूत bhūt

ghost in Tamil

spirit appearing after death
பேய் pēy

ghost in Marathi

spirit appearing after death
भूत bhūt

ghost in Urdu

spirit appearing after death
بُھوت bhūt, رُوح rūh, شَبَح śabah
More languagesFewer languages
ghost in Bengali
ভূত bhut
ghost in Telugu
దయ్యం dayyaṁ, ప్రేతాత్మ prētātma, పిశాచి piśāci, భూతం bhūtaṁ
ghost in Malayalam
ഭൂതം bhūtaṁ, പ്രേതം prētaṁ
ghost in Punjabi
ਭੂਤ bhūt
ghost in Sanskrit
भूत bhūta, प्रेत preta, वेताल vetāla, पिशाच piśāca
ghost in Pashto
روح roh, شبح šebh
ghost in Tagalog
multo, aparisyon, aswang, pantasma
ghost in Arabic
شَبَح šabaḥ, خَيَال ḵayāl, زَوْل zawl, طَيْف ṭayf
ghost in Malay
hantu, palau
ghost in Indonesian
hantu, roh, dedemitan, polong
ghost in Persian
رُوح rūh, شَبَح šabah, روح ruh
ghost in Thai
ผี pǐi, ภูต pûut, ปิศาจ bpì-sàat, พราย praai
ghost in Vietnamese
ma, ma quỉ, bóng ma
ghost in Myanmar
သရဲ sa.rai:, တစ္ဆေ tachce, နာနာဘာဝ nanabhawa.

Examples of ghost in a sentence

  • ghost craters (craters that have been filled, e.g. with volcanic deposits)
  • The mighty ghosts of our great Harries rose.1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza...
  • I thought that I had died in sleep/And was a blessed ghost1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere:
  • Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill....
  • If I thought that “I” referred to my inner ghost, I wouldn't be worried because a bullet can't hurt a ghost, and equally there would be no point in your shooting.2014, Neville Moray, Science, Cells and Souls: An Introduction to Human Nature:

All 40 example sentences with ghost

Synonyms of ghost

12 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of ghost

Forms of ghost

Noun
pluralghosts
alternative formghoast
alternative formgost
Verb
third-person singular presentghosts
present participleghosting
past participleghosted
pastghosted

Past tense of ghost: ghosted

Plural of ghost: ghosts

Origin of ghost

The noun is derived from Middle English gost, from Old English gāst, gǣst (“breath, spirit, soul, ghost”) (compare modern English Holy Ghost), from Proto-West Germanic *gaist, from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysdos, from *ǵʰéysd- (“anger, agitation”). The h in the spelling appears in the Prologue to William Caxton’s Royal Book, printed in 1484, in a reference to the “Holy Ghoost”. It was likely influenced by Middle Dutch gheest, a common variant of geest. Both Caxton and his assistant Wynkyn de Worde had connections to the Low Countries. Doublet of geist. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. The verb gained prominence in the 2010s. cognates * Danish gast (“ghost”), gejst (“enthusiasm”) * Dutch geest (“ghost, spirit”) * German Geist (“ghost, spirit”) * Luxembourgish Geescht (“ghost, spirit, spectre, phantom”) * Saterland Frisian Gäist, Jeest (“ghost, spirit”) * Scots gaist, ghaist (“ghost”) * Swedish gast (“ghost”) * Vilamovian gȧjst (“ghost, spirit”) * West Frisian geast (“ghost, spirit”) * Yiddish גײַסט (gayst, “ghost, spirit”) * Yola gaast (“ghost”)

Words formed from ghost

Phrases with ghost

149 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with ghost

12 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about ghost

What does ghost mean?
Ghost means a disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.
What is ghost in Hindi?
Ghost in Hindi is भूत (bhūt), आत्मा (ātmā), प्रेत (pret). See Ghost meaning in Hindi.
How do you use ghost in a sentence?
ghost craters (craters that have been filled, e.g. with volcanic deposits)
What part of speech is ghost?
Ghost can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce ghost?
Ghost is pronounced /ɡəʊst/ (UK).
What is the plural of ghost?
The plural of ghost is ghosts.

Words near ghost in the dictionary

  1. Ghosh
  2. Ghoshal
  3. Ghoshals
  4. Ghoshian
  5. Ghosn
  6. ghost
  7. ghost ant
  8. ghost ants
  9. ghost apple
  10. ghost apples
  11. ghost at the feast

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ghost (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-ghost.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ghost.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ghost. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.