GHOST


Meaning of GHOST in English

I. ghost 1 /ɡəʊst $ ɡoʊst/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: gast ]

1 . SPIRIT the spirit of a dead person that some people think they can feel or see in a place

ghost of

the ghost of Old Tom Morris

They say the young girl’s ghost still haunts (=often appears in) the house.

He looked as if he’d seen a ghost (=he looked very frightened) .

⇨ ↑ Holy Ghost

2 . MEMORY/EFFECT the memory or effect of someone or something bad that lived, existed, or happened in the past

ghost of

The ghost of Stalinism still affects life in Russia today.

3 . the ghost of a smile/sound etc a smile etc that is so slight you are not sure it happened:

The ghost of a smile flitted across her sad features.

4 . TELEVISION/COMPUTER a second image that is not clear on a television or computer screen

5 . give up the ghost

a) if a machine gives up the ghost, it does not work any more and cannot be repaired – used humorously:

Unfortunately, my car’s just given up the ghost.

b) to die

6 . (not) a ghost of a chance not even a slight chance of doing something, or of something happening:

They don’t stand a ghost of a chance of winning.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ ghost the spirit of a dead person that some people think they can feel or see in a place:

His ghost is believed to haunt the house.

▪ spirit a creature without a physical body, such as an angel or ghost:

evil spirits

|

the spirit world

▪ apparition an image of a dead person that someone sees suddenly for a short time:

He claimed to have seen an apparition in the church.

▪ poltergeist a ghost that people cannot see, which throws things or moves things around:

The house was haunted by a poltergeist that makes things move around all by themselves, sometimes quite big things like beds or wardrobes.

▪ spook informal a ghost:

I’m not scared of spooks.

▪ phantom literary a frightening and unclear image of a dead person:

They had seen phantoms gliding on the surface of the water.

▪ spectre British English , specter American English literary a ghost, especially a frightening one:

She had looked like a spectre.

|

The following night, the spectre appeared again.

II. ghost 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]

to write something as a ↑ ghost writer

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.