hosts
hosts — noun
1. people who welcome visitors into their home or to an event and look after them t
people who welcome visitors into their home or to an event and look after them throughout the visit.
Tomás and Camila were warm hosts who kept everyone's wine glass full all evening.
subject use: [Name and Name] were warm hosts
The Watanabe family are generous hosts and always cook a huge dinner for visitors.
collocation: generous hosts
As hosts, Aoi and her parents stood by the door to greet every guest.
Our hosts in Lisbon drove us around the old town and showed us their favourite cafés.
Imani thanked her hosts with a small box of homemade cookies before leaving.
- guests
the people being hosted, not the ones hosting
文法句型
the hosts of [event]
our hosts
用法筆記
Plural form referring to two or more people in the same hosting role. Often paired with adjectives describing how welcoming they are (generous, warm, gracious).
常見錯誤
2. people who lead a TV show, radio programme, or podcast, talking to guests and gu
people who lead a TV show, radio programme, or podcast, talking to guests and guiding the conversation.
The two hosts of the morning show laughed at each other's jokes between news segments.
hosts of [show]
Layla and Diego are the new hosts of a popular cooking podcast about street food.
hosts of a podcast
Quiz-show hosts have to think quickly when contestants give surprising answers.
Late-night hosts often open the programme with jokes about the day's news.
The radio hosts spent half an hour interviewing a young scientist about climate change.
- presenters
British English; preferred over 'host' on BBC-style shows
- anchors
specifically the main person on a news broadcast
- MCs
informal; for events rather than regular TV/radio shows
文法句型
the hosts of [show]
co-hosts
用法筆記
Often modified by the type of show (radio hosts, quiz-show hosts, talk-show hosts). Distinguish from sense 1 — these people work professionally on a broadcast, not at a private gathering.
3. people who start and run a video meeting or online call, often controlling who c
people who start and run a video meeting or online call, often controlling who can speak or share their screen.
Only the hosts of the Zoom call can mute participants or let new people into the room.
hosts of the Zoom call
Jisoo and Owen were hosts of the team's weekly online retrospective this month.
be hosts of [meeting]
The webinar hosts shared their screens and walked us through a new pricing spreadsheet.
Most platforms let hosts record the meeting and send the video to people who missed it.
- organisers
wider — covers more than just running the call itself
- moderators
more about managing speakers and rule-keeping during the call
- participants
the people joining the meeting rather than running it
文法句型
the hosts of [meeting/call]
用法筆記
Modern computing sense. Distinguish from sense 2 — these people run a private meeting, not a public broadcast. Often paired with platform names (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet).
4. places, cities, or organisations that supply the location, equipment, and other
places, cities, or organisations that supply the location, equipment, and other things needed to put on a big event.
Tokyo and Paris were both hosts of recent Summer Olympic Games.
hosts of [event]
The two universities were joint hosts of the international robotics competition.
joint hosts of [event]
Several local museums acted as hosts for the children's art festival.
The German cities were proud hosts of the football tournament that summer.
- venues
physical locations only — narrower than 'hosts', which can include organisations
- organisers
the group running an event, not necessarily the place it happens
文法句型
the hosts of [event]
act as hosts
用法筆記
Subject is a place or organisation, not a person. Common in news writing about sports, conferences, and cultural events.
5. living plants or animals that another living thing, called a parasite, feeds on
living plants or animals that another living thing, called a parasite, feeds on or lives inside.
Mosquitoes are common hosts of the tiny parasites that cause malaria.
hosts of [parasite]
Some forest trees act as hosts for hundreds of insects, fungi, and small birds.
hosts for [organisms]
Farm pigs can be hosts of a worm that also infects humans who eat undercooked pork.
Scientists study which animals serve as hosts of new viruses before they reach people.
- carriers
an animal that carries a disease but may not be harmed by it
- parasites
the organism living on or in the host
文法句型
hosts of [parasite]
hosts for [parasite]
用法筆記
Biology register. Distinguish from sense 1 — these 'hosts' do not invite the parasite; the parasite arrives and uses them. Often appears with serve as / act as.
6. a very large group, often too many people or items to count easily.
a very large group, often too many people or items to count easily.
The new law brought hosts of questions from worried small-business owners.
hosts of [things]
Hosts of fans waited outside the stadium hours before the concert began.
hosts of [people]
Hosts of tiny silver fish were swimming around Sofia's ankles in the shallow water.
The young writer faces hosts of challenges before her first novel is published.
- multitudes
literary; very large groups of people
- scores
informal; suggests dozens rather than hundreds
- handfuls
small numbers
文法句型
a host of [plural noun]
hosts of [plural noun]
用法筆記
More often appears as 'a host of' (singular) than 'hosts of'. Slightly literary or formal in tone — in everyday speech 'lots of' or 'loads of' is more common.
常見錯誤
7. very large armies, or any massive group that moves and acts together like an arm
very large armies, or any massive group that moves and acts together like an army; mostly seen in old books, poetry, and religious writing.
The old poem describes hosts of soldiers marching down the dusty road at dawn.
hosts of soldiers
Religious paintings often show hosts of angels singing above the manger.
hosts of angels
The medieval chronicle records hosts of knights gathering at the king's castle.
The novel ends with hosts of villagers driving the invaders back into the sea.
- legions
Roman-army origin; also used figuratively for big groups
- multitudes
religious or literary; not necessarily armed
文法句型
hosts of [people/angels]
用法筆記
Archaic or literary. Distinguish from sense 6 — sense 7 carries a strong military / heroic flavour and is almost only seen in older texts or religious phrasing like 'heavenly hosts'.
8. thin round pieces of bread used at Christian Communion, especially in Catholic c
thin round pieces of bread used at Christian Communion, especially in Catholic churches, believed to become the body of Christ.
The priest blessed the small white hosts before the morning service began.
blessed the [adj] hosts
A young helper carried the hosts to the altar on a silver plate.
carried the hosts to [place]
Worshippers stood in line and opened their mouths to receive the consecrated hosts.
Local nuns bake the hosts by hand using only flour and water.
- wafers
everyday word; less religious in tone
- communion bread
general term covering both leavened and unleavened forms
文法句型
consecrated hosts
用法筆記
Used inside Christian liturgy contexts. Singular 'host' is much more common; the plural appears when speaking about the whole batch used in a service.
9. computers or companies that store the files of a website or run programs so that
computers or companies that store the files of a website or run programs so that other computers can use them across a network.
Many small bloggers use cheap web hosts that charge only a few dollars a month.
web hosts
The company moved its store to faster hosts after sales dropped during a checkout slowdown.
moved [thing] to [adj] hosts
Network engineers add new hosts to the cluster whenever traffic grows.
Some hosts back up the database every hour so customers do not lose their orders.
- clients
the computers that connect to and request services from the host
文法句型
web hosts
hosts of [website/service]
用法筆記
Computing register. Distinguish from sense 3 — sense 9 is the machine or company storing data, while sense 3 is the person running a video call. Often paired with 'web', 'cloud', or 'virtual'.
hosts — verb
1. supplies the place and the things needed for an event such as a meal, party, con
supplies the place and the things needed for an event such as a meal, party, conference, or competition.
Kofi hosts a small dinner for his neighbours every Sunday evening.
hosts a [event] for [people]
Our school hosts a big spring fair that raises money for new library books.
hosts a [event] that [verb]
Beatriz hosts her book club at the corner café once a month.
Brazil hosts the football tournament again next summer, with games in five cities.
The art centre hosts a free concert on the first Friday of every month.
- attends
goes to an event as a guest rather than running it
文法句型
[subject] hosts [event/person]
用法筆記
Third-person singular present form. Subject can be a person, an organisation, a venue, or a country. Object is usually the event itself or the people attending.
常見錯誤
2. leads a TV show, radio programme, or podcast, speaking to the audience and to an
leads a TV show, radio programme, or podcast, speaking to the audience and to any guests on it.
Sofia hosts a weekly podcast about climate change for high-school students.
hosts a weekly [show]
Andrei hosts the late-night talk show that everyone in his country watches.
hosts the [adj] talk show
Mei hosts the morning news on Channel 7, going on air at six o'clock sharp.
The retired comedian now hosts a Sunday radio show about old British songs.
文法句型
[subject] hosts [show/podcast]
用法筆記
Third-person singular present form. Distinguish from sense 1 — this sense is specifically about broadcast or recorded media, not events.
3. starts and runs a video meeting or online call, often deciding who can speak and
starts and runs a video meeting or online call, often deciding who can speak and when the meeting ends.
Diego hosts the project's weekly Zoom call from his home office in Madrid.
hosts the [meeting] from [place]
Our HR department hosts a monthly online workshop for all new staff members.
hosts a monthly online [event]
The teacher hosts a quiet study room on Google Meet every Tuesday after class.
Anjali hosts the team retrospective and shares her screen to walk through last week's tickets.
- joins
attends a call as a participant rather than running it
文法句型
[subject] hosts [meeting/call]
用法筆記
Third-person singular present form. Common in workplace and remote-learning contexts. Distinguish from sense 2 — this is private group communication, not a broadcast.
4. stores the files and runs the software that lets a website or online service sta
stores the files and runs the software that lets a website or online service stay open for users on the internet.
A small company in Berlin hosts the band's official website and online shop.
[company] hosts [website]
Our university hosts a free archive of old newspapers for researchers around the world.
hosts an archive of [content]
Faisal hosts his personal blog on a tiny computer that sits beside his fridge.
The city hosts an open map of bike lanes that anyone can download and use.
文法句型
[subject] hosts [website/app]
用法筆記
Third-person singular present form, computing register. Subject is usually a company, server, or organisation that owns the machine. Distinguish from sense 1 — no people are physically gathered.