plural ghosts
1
: the seat of life or intelligence : soul
give up the ghost
2
: a disembodied soul
especially
: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness
4
a
: a faint shadowy trace
a ghost of a smile
b
: the least bit
not a ghost of a chance
5
: a false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection
6
: one who ghostwrites
7
: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
ghosted; ghosting; ghosts
1
: to haunt like a ghost
2
: ghostwrite
ghosted the mayor's autobiography
3
informal
: to cut off all contact with (someone) abruptly and usually without explanation : to subject (someone, such as a former romantic partner) to ghosting see ghosting sense 2
No one wants to be ghosted, mostly because it sucks to admit that the person you gushed about last week is now pretending you don't exist …—
Ellen Scott
Ellen Scott1
a
: to move silently like a ghost
b
: to sail quietly in light winds
2
Synonyms
Examples of ghost in a Sentence
Noun
a house haunted by ghosts
looked for ghosts in the graveyard on Halloween
Verb
She ghosted the mayor's autobiography.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patrick Frater, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
That night, Elizabeth’s ghost possesses Jill to speak to Jack.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024
Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2024
Sending the text will feel bad, but ghosting allows uncertainty to linger.
—Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ghost 
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Noun
According to Taiwanese rural folklore, figures spotted in yellow coats in the mountainous forests are not human, but ghosts who seek to lead the living astray.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
That night, Elizabeth’s ghost possesses Jill to speak to Jack.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
The fading of the bezel insert tends to send some collectors head-over-heals if it’s especially ghosted (sun bleached), while excessive case polishing (which was common in the five-digit era) will drive prices downward.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2024
Sending the text will feel bad, but ghosting allows uncertainty to linger.
—Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ghost
Dictionary Entries Near ghost
Cite this Entry
“Ghost.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghost. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ghost
noun
: a structure (as a cell or tissue) that does not stain normally because of degenerative changes
specifically
: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
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