a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere:
the host at a theater party.
a master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for a television or radio program.
a person, place, company, or the like, that provides services, resources, etc., as for a convention or sporting event:
Our city would like to serve as host for the next Winter Olympics.
the landlord of an inn.
a living animal or plant from which a parasite obtains nutrition.
Surgery. the recipient of a graft.
Compare (def 2).
verb (used with object)
to be the host at (a dinner, reception, etc.):
He hosted a reception for new members.
to act as host to:
The vice president hosted the foreign dignitaries during their visit.
to act as master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer for:
to host a popular talk show.
verb (used without object)
to perform the duties or functions of a host.
a multitude or great number of persons or things:
a host of details.
the bread or wafer consecrated in the celebration of the Eucharist.
a person who receives or entertains guests, esp in his own home
the compere of a show or television programme
(computing) a computer connected to a network and providing facilities to other computers and their users
the owner or manager of an inn
to be the host of (a party, programme, etc): to host one’s own show
(transitive) (US, informal) to leave (a restaurant) without paying the bill
a great number; multitude
an archaic word for army
the bread consecrated in the Eucharist
“person who receives guests,” late 13c., from Old French hoste “guest, host, hostess, landlord” (12c., Modern French hôte), from Latin hospitem (nominative hospes) “guest, host,” literally “lord of strangers,” from PIE *ghostis- “stranger” (cf. Old Church Slavonic gosti “guest, friend,” gospodi “lord, master;” see guest). The biological sense of “animal or plant having a parasite” is from 1857.
“multitude” mid-13c., from Old French host “army” (10c.), from Medieval Latin hostis “army, war-like expedition,” from Latin hostis “enemy, foreigner, stranger,” from the same root as host (n.1). Replaced Old English here, and in turn has been largely superseded by army. The generalized meaning of “large number” is first attested 1610s.
“body of Christ, consecrated bread,” c.1300, from Latin hostia “sacrifice,” also “the animal sacrificed,” applied in Church Latin to Christ; probably ultimately related to host (n.1) in its root sense of “stranger, enemy.”
“to serve as a host,” early 15c., from host (n.1). Related: Hosted; hosting.
Healthcare Open Systems and Trials
an entertainer (Rom. 16:23); a tavern-keeper, the keeper of a caravansary (Luke 10:35). In warfare, a troop or military force. This consisted at first only of infantry. Solomon afterwards added cavalry (1 Kings 4:26; 10:26). Every male Israelite from twenty to fifty years of age was bound by the law to bear arms when necessary (Num. 1:3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5). Saul was the first to form a standing army (1 Sam. 13:2; 24:2). This example was followed by David (1 Chr. 27:1), and Solomon (1 Kings 4:26), and by the kings of Israel and Judah (2 Chr. 17:14; 26:11; 2 Kings 11:4, etc.).
- Hosts file
networking A text file on a networked computer used to associate host names with IP addresses. A hosts file contains lines consisting of whitespace-separated fields giving an IP address followed by list of host names or aliases associated with that address. The name resolution library software can use this file to look up the IP […]
[hohst-spi-sif-ik] /ˈhoʊst spɪˈsɪf ɪk/ adjective 1. capable of living solely on or in one species of host, as a parasite that infests only chickens.
noun, Informal. 1. empty, exaggerated, or pretentious talk or writing: His report on the company’s progress was just so much hot air. noun 1. (informal) empty and usually boastful talk noun phrase Related Terms full of hot air Empty, exaggerated talk, as in That last speech of his was pure hot air. It is also […]
- Hot-air balloon
noun 1. a lighter-than-air craft in which air heated by a flame is trapped in a large fabric bag