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ghost
The definition of a ghost is a faint hint of something, or the spirit of a dead person come back to Earth to haunt the living.
(noun)- When someone is trying really hard not to smile and you only see a faint little hint of their lips quirking up, this is an example of when you see a ghost of a smile.
- When a person is murdered and her spirit comes back to haunt the murderer, this is an example of a ghost.
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See ghost in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- the spirit or soul: now only in (to die) and in Holy Ghost
- Folklore a dead person's disembodied spirit, esp. when thought of as appearing to the living as a pale, shadowy apparition
- a haunting memory
- a faint, shadowy semblance; inkling
- a slight trace: not a ghost of a chance
- ☆ Informal ghostwriter
- Optics, TV an unwanted secondary image
Origin: altered (prob. after Fl gheest) < ME goste < OE gast, soul, spirit, demon, akin to Ger geist < IE base *gheizd-, to be excited, frightened > Sans hēḋ-, to be angry
intransitive verb
☆ to work as a ghostwriter
transitive verb
- to haunt
- ☆ to be the ghostwriter of
Related Forms:
- ghostlike adjective
See ghost in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats.
- The center of spiritual life; the soul.
- A demon or spirit.
- A returning or haunting memory or image.
- a. A slight or faint trace: just a ghost of a smile.b. The tiniest bit: not a ghost of a chance.
- A faint, false image, as:a. A secondary 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. A false spectral line caused by imperfections in the diffraction grating.d. A displaced image in a mirror caused by reflection from the front of the glass.
- Informal A ghostwriter.
- a. A nonexistent publication listed in bibliographies.b. A fictitious employee or business.
- Physiology A red blood cell having no hemoglobin.
- Informal To engage in ghostwriting.
- To move noiselessly like a ghost: “Two young deer ghosted out of the woods” (Nancy M. Debevoise).
- To haunt.
- Informal To ghostwrite: was hired to ghost the memoirs of a famous executive.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English gost
Origin: , from Old English gāst, breath, spirit
.Related Forms:
- ghostˈy adjective
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