From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhostelhos‧tel /ˈhɒstl $ ˈhɑː-/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 DLTa place where people can stay and eat fairly cheaply2 DLTa youth hostel3 PEWHOMEa place where people who have no homes can stay
Examples from the Corpus
hostel• a hostel for migrant workers• This would mean local authorities working together with private and voluntary sectors to provide homes and hostels.• The authority spent £18,500 on bed and breakfast accommodation because its existing hostel was full.• While in the transit camp at Lowestoft he was offered a choice of hostels in Belfast, Leeds or London.• More probation hostels were urgently needed for young persons, and hostels should be provided for adult offenders who required strict supervision.• Local authorities have been providing hostels since 1959 but only in very small numbers.• So I stayed at the hostel for four weeks.• A week's multi-activity holiday based at a youth hostel costs around £120-£130.• Passing the youth hostel, we climbed through gorse and bracken to Port Eynon Point.Origin hostel (1200-1300) Old French Late Latin hospitale; → HOSPITAL 