/ gest; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a person that you have invited to your house or to a particular event that you are paying for :
We have guests staying this weekend.
more than 100 wedding guests
I went to the theatre club as Helen's guest.
He was the guest of honour (= the most important person invited to an event) .
Liz was not on the guest list .
2.
a person who is staying at a hotel, etc. :
We have accommodation for 500 guests.
a paying guest (= a person who is living in a private house, but paying as if they were in a hotel)
Guests should vacate their rooms by 10.30 a.m.
3.
a famous person or performer who takes part in a television show or concert :
a guest artist / star / singer
Our special guest tonight is ...
He made a guest appearance on the show.
4.
a person who is invited to a particular place or organization, or to speak at a meeting :
The scientists are here as guests of our government.
a guest speaker
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IDIOMS
- be my guest
■ verb
[ v ] guest (on sth) to take part in a television or radio show, a concert, a game, etc. as a visiting or temporary performer or player :
She guested on several chat shows while visiting Britain.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old Norse gestr , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch gast and German Gast , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin hostis enemy (originally stranger).