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