ghost

ghost

(gōst)

n.

1. The spirit of a dead person, especially one that is believed to appear to the living in bodily form or to haunt specific locations.

2. A person's spirit or soul: was sick for months and finally gave up the ghost.

3. A returning or haunting memory or image.

4.

a. A slight or faint trace: just a ghost of a smile.

b. The tiniest bit: not a ghost of a chance.

5. A faint, unwanted image, as:

a. An unwanted image on a television or radar screen caused by reflected waves.

b. A displaced image in a photograph caused by the optical system of the camera.

c. An unwanted spectral line caused by imperfections in a diffraction grating.

d. A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the glass.

6. Informal A ghostwriter.

7.

a. A nonexistent publication listed in bibliographies.

b. A fictitious employee or business.

8. Physiology A red blood cell having no hemoglobin.

v. ghost·ed, ghost·ing, ghosts

v. intr.

1. Informal To engage in ghostwriting.

2. To move noiselessly like a ghost: "Two young deer ghosted out of the woods" (Nancy M. Debevoise).

3. Informal To cut off all communication with someone, especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation: ghosted on him after two dates.

v. tr.

1. To haunt.

2. Informal To ghostwrite: was hired to ghost the memoirs of a famous executive.

3. Informal To cut off all communication with (someone), especially a romantic or sexual partner, without providing an explanation: "In some point in nearly every young millennial's life, they will be ghosted. And not by sad dead bodies from the graveyard, but by idiot living ones from the Internet" (Heather Dockray).

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[Middle English gost, from Old English gāst, breath, spirit.]

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ghost′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ghost

(ɡəʊst)

n

1. the disembodied spirit of a dead person, supposed to haunt the living as a pale or shadowy vision; phantom.

2. a haunting memory: the ghost of his former life rose up before him.

3. a faint trace or possibility of something; glimmer: a ghost of a smile.

4. the spirit; soul (archaic, except in the phrase the Holy Ghost)

5. (General Physics) physics

a. a faint secondary image produced by an optical system

b. a similar image on a television screen, formed by reflection of the transmitting waves or by a defect in the receiver

6. (Linguistics) See ghost word

7. (Library Science & Bibliography) Also called: ghost edition an entry recorded in a bibliography of which no actual proof exists

8. (Journalism & Publishing) another name for ghostwriter

9. (modifier) falsely recorded as doing a particular job or fulfilling a particular function in order that some benefit, esp money, may be obtained: a ghost worker.

10. give up the ghost

a. to die

b. (of a machine) to stop working

vb

11. (Journalism & Publishing) another word for ghostwrite

12. (tr) to haunt

13. (intr) to move effortlessly and smoothly, esp unnoticed: he ghosted into the penalty area.

[Old English gāst; related to Old Frisian jēst, Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit hēda fury, anger]

ˈghostˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ghost

(goʊst)

n.

1. the soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined as wandering, often in vague or evanescent form, among the living and sometimes haunting them; wraith.

2. a mere shadow or semblance; trace: She's a ghost of her former self.

3. a remote possibility: not a ghost of a chance.

4. the principle of life; soul; spirit.

5. ghostwriter.

6. a secondary, usu. faint or blurry image, as on a television screen or on a photographic negative or print.

v.t.

7. to ghostwrite (a book, speech, etc.).

8. to haunt.

Idioms:

give up the ghost,

a. to die.

b. to cease to function or exist.

[before 900; Middle English goost, Old English gāst, c. Old Frisian gāst, Old Saxon gēst, Old High German geist spirit]

ghost′like`, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

ghost

Past participle: ghosted
Gerund: ghosting

Imperative

ghost

ghost

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	ghost - a mental representation of some haunting experience; "he looked like he had seen a ghost"; "it aroused specters from his past" specter, wraith, spectre, spook, shade fantasm, phantasm, phantasma, phantom, shadow, apparition - something existing in perception only; "a ghostly apparition at midnight"
	2.	ghost - a writer who gives the credit of authorship to someone else ghostwriter author, writer - writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
	3.	ghost - the visible disembodied soul of a dead person poltergeist - a ghost that announces its presence with rapping and the creation of disorder revenant - someone who has returned from the dead soul, psyche - the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
	4.	ghost - a suggestion of some quality; "there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone"; "he detected a ghost of a smile on her face" touch, trace proffer, proposition, suggestion - a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection; "it was a suggestion we couldn't refuse"
Verb	1.	ghost - move like a ghost; "The masked men ghosted across the moonlit yard" go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"
	2.	ghost - haunt like a ghost; pursue; "Fear of illness haunts her" obsess, haunt preoccupy - engage or engross the interest or attention of beforehand or occupy urgently or obsessively; "His work preoccupies him"; "The matter preoccupies her completely--she cannot think of anything else"
	3.	ghost - write for someone else; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?" ghostwrite authorship, penning, writing, composition - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" author - be the author of; "She authored this play"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

ghost

noun

1. spirit, soul, phantom, spectre, spook (informal), apparition, wraith, shade (literary), revenant, phantasm The village is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the dead children.

2. trace, shadow, suggestion, hint, suspicion, glimmer, semblance He gave the ghost of a smile.

Related words
adjective spectral
fear phasmophobia

Quotations
"Ghost stories appeal to our craving for immortality. If you can be afraid of a ghost, then you have to believe that a ghost may exist. And if a ghost exists then oblivion might not be the end" [Stanley Kubrick]
"Even the living were only ghosts in the making" [Pat Barker The Ghost Road]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ghost

noun

1. A supernatural being, such as a ghost:

apparition, bogey, bogeyman, bogle, eidolon, phantasm, phantasma, phantom, revenant, shade, shadow, specter, spirit, visitant, wraith.

Informal: spook.

Regional: haunt.

2. A slight amount or indication:

breath, dash, hair, hint, intimation, semblance, shade, shadow, soupçon, streak, suggestion, suspicion, taste, tinge, touch, trace, whiff, whisper.

Informal: whisker.

verb

Informal. To write for and credit authorship to another:

ghostwrite.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

شَبَح

духдушапривидениепризракфантом

espectreesperitfantasma

duchpřízrakstrašidlo

spøgelseåndgenfærd

GeistGespenstPhantomSpukTrugbild

φάντασμαφάσμα

fantasmasombraalmaaparecidoaparición

kummitussieluaavehaamuhenki

fantômerevenantspectrefantasmelarve

duhfantomsablastutvaraavet

árnyárnyalakárnyképfantomjelenés

hantu

draugur, afturganga

spiritofantasmalarvanessuna probabilit...ombra

幽霊

유령

animalarvalemuresmanesphasma

dvasiapaskutinį kvapą išleistišmėklašmėkliškasvaiduoklis

parādībarēgsspoks

spookartefactgeest

spøkelsegjenferd

duchfantommajakupiórwidmo

fantasmasombraalmaapariçãoassombração

привидениедухтеньфантомдуша

duchmátohaprízrakstrašidlozjavenie

duhfantom

avetavetinjaduhpriviđenjesablast

spökeandefantom

ผี

hayalethortlakruh

маревомарупривидпривідпримару

ma

鬼幽灵

ghost

[gəʊst]

A. N → fantasma m, espectro m (TV) → imagen f fantasma
Holy Ghost (Rel) → Espíritu m Santo
he hasn't the ghost of a chance → no tiene la más remota posibilidad
she managed the ghost of a smile → consiguió esbozar un amago de sonrisa
to give up the ghost (= die) → entregar el alma (hum) [car, washing machine, etc] → pasar a mejor vida

B. VT [+ book] → escribir por otro
an autobiography ghosted by Peters → una autobiografía escrita por el negro Peters

C. CPD ghost image N (Cine, TV) → imagen f fantasma
ghost story N → cuento m de fantasmas
ghost town N → pueblo m fantasma
ghost train N → tren m fantasma

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ghost

[ˈgəʊst]

n

(= spirit) → fantôme m, revenant m

to give up the ghost → rendre l'âme

not the ghost of a chance → pas l'ombre d'une chance
the ghost of a chance of doing sth → l'ombre d'une chance de faire qch

vt [+ sb else's book, column] → écrire

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ghost

n

(= apparition) → Geist m, → Gespenst nt; (of sb) → Geist m

(fig) with the ghost of a smile → mit dem Anflug eines Lächelns; she gave the ghost of a smile → sie lächelte zaghaft; I don’t have or stand the ghost of a chance → ich habe nicht die geringste Chance

to give up the ghost (dated inf) → seinen or den Geist aufgeben

(TV: also ghost image) → Geisterbild nt

(= writer) → Ghostwriter m

vi to ghost for somebody → jds Ghostwriter sein

vt to be ghosted → von einem Ghostwriter geschrieben sein; to have something ghosted → sich (dat) → etw von einem Ghostwriter schreiben lassen; to ghost somebody’s books/speeches → für jdn Bücher/Reden (als Ghostwriter) schreiben

---

ghost

in cpds → Geister-;

ghost story

n → Geister- or Gespenstergeschichte f

ghost town

n → Geisterstadt f

ghost train

n (Brit, at funfair) → Geisterbahn f

ghostwriter

n → Ghostwriter m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ghost

[gəʊst]

1. n → fantasma m, spettro
the ghost of a smile (fig) → una parvenza di sorriso
he hasn't the ghost of a chance (fig) → non ha la minima possibilità

2. vt (book) → scrivere per conto di altri

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

ghost

(gəust) noun

a spirit, usually of a dead person. Do you believe in ghosts?; Hamlet thought he saw his father's ghost. spook شَبَح призрак fantasma duch der Geist ånd; spøgelse φάντασμαfantasma vaim, tont روح aave fantôme רוח רפאים भूत duh, prikaza szellem hantu draugur, afturganga fantasma 幽霊 유령 dvasia, šmėkla, vaiduoklis parādība; rēgs; spoks hantu spookspøkelse, gjenferdduch شبح، روح، دمړه اروا( وائى چې دژوندى جسم په توګه څرګنديږى fantasma fantomă привидение duch duh duh spöke, vålnad ผี hayalet 鬼魂 привид بھوت ma 幽灵，鬼

ˈghostly adjective

of or like a ghost or ghosts. a ghostly figure. spookagtige شَبَحي призрачен fantasmagórico přízračný geisterhaft åndelig; spøgelsesagtig; spøgelses- που μοιάζει με φάντασμα fantasmagórico tontlik روح مانند aavemainen fantomatique של רוח רפאים प्रेतरूपी poput duha kísérteties seperti hantu draugalegur spettrale 幽霊のような 유령 같은 vaiduokliškas, šmėkliškas rēgains; spokains seperti hantu spookachtigspøkelsesaktig upiorny دارواپه ډول fantasmal fantomatic похожий на привидение hrôzostrašný kot duh sablasan spöklik, spök- เหมือนผี hayalet gibi 鬼(般)的 схожий на привид; примарний بھوت سے متعلق thuộc hoặc là ma 鬼的，幽灵似的

give up the ghost

to die. die gees gee يَموت умирам morrer vypustit duši den Geist aufgeben opgive ånden παραδίδω το πνεύμα entregar el alma hinge heitma مردن menettää henkensä rendre l'âme למות मरना ispustiti dušu kileheli a lelkét mati draugalega rendere l'anima 死ぬ 죽다 paskutinį kvapą išleisti izlaist garu; nomirt mati de geest geven oppgi ånden, dø wyzionąć ducha مړ کیدل morrer a muri испустить дух vypustiť dušu izdihniti umreti ge upp andan ยอมตาย ölmek, can vermek 死 померти متوفی ہو جانا chết 死

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

ghost

→ شَبَح duch spøgelse Geist φάντασμα fantasma kummitus fantôme duh fantasma 幽霊 유령 spook spøkelse duch fantasma привидение spöke ผี hayalet ma 鬼

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009