- 1a building that provides cheap accommodation and meals to students, workers or travellers see also youth hostel Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivestudent, youth verb + hostelstay at hostel + nounaccommodation, accommodations prepositionat a/the hostel See full entry See related entries: Public spaces, Holiday accommodation
- 2(British English) (also shelter North American English, British English) a building, usually run by a charity, where people who have no home can stay for a short time a hostel for the homeless Wordfinderpoorbeg, benefit, charity, homeless, hostel, the poor, poverty, shanty town, sweatshop, unemployment Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiverefugee, bed-and-breakfast, bail, … verb + hostelstay at, stay in prepositionin a/the hostel See full entry Word OriginMiddle English (in the general sense ‘lodging, place to stay)’ : from Old French, from medieval Latin hospitale, neuter of Latin hospitalis ‘hospitable’, from hospes, hospit- ‘host, guest’.Extra examples He lives in a hostel for the homeless. We stayed at a student hostel during the conference. We stayed at a youth hostel in Perugia. a probation hostel for young offenders homeless families staying in bed and breakfast hostels All we could afford was dormitory-style accommodation at a hostel. Hostel accommodation is provided for the seasonal workers. Hostels in the city cost about $10 a night. The building had been used as a student hostel. There were several backpacker hostels in that part of the town. They were on a walking tour, staying in youth hostels. a youth/student hostel
hostel
nounBrE BrE//ˈhɒstl//; NAmE NAmE//ˈhɑːstl//
Public spaces, Holiday accommodationCheck pronunciation: hostel
