host

noun

1. One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially.

   “A good host is always considerate of the guest’s needs.”

   “Time is like a fashionable host, / That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand.”

2. One that provides a facility for an event.
3. A person or organization responsible for running an event.

   “Our company is host of the annual conference this year.”

4. A moderator or master of ceremonies for a performance.

   “The host was terrible, but the acts themselves were good.”

5. The primary member of a system, typically the member who fronts most often.
6. (Internet)Any computer attached to a network.
7. A cell or organism which harbors another organism or biological entity, usually a parasite.

   “Viruses depend on the host that they infect in order to be able to reproduce.”

   “A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.”

8. An organism bearing certain genetic material, with respect to its cells.

   “The so-called junk DNA is known, so far, to provide no apparent benefit to its host.”

9. A paid male companion offering conversation and in some cases sex, as in certain types of bar in Japan.
10. A multitude of people arrayed as an army; used also in religious senses, as: Heavenly host (of angels)

    “Why, Plugson, even thy own host is all in mutiny: Cotton is conquered; but the ‘bare backs’ — are worse covered than ever!”

    “All about the hosts of Mordor raged.”

    “By Lady Day the Scriptorium was ready to receive the "copying and burrowing" of the host of readers who had been directed by Furnivall for the past twenty years.”

    “the invading host that had sailed from Hellas in more than one thousand ships was of an unprecedented size.”

11. A large number of items; a large inventory.

    “The dealer stocks a host of parts for my Model A.”

    “There are a host of reasons for this decision.”

    “I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; […]”

    “A short time since, some friends drinking tea one summer evening at their residence near Maidenhead, with all the windows of the drawing-room open, there suddenly burst in a host of small flies, which covered the table and the furniture […]”

    “England ran Tunisia ragged in that spell but were punished for missing a host of chances when Ferjani Sassi equalised from the penalty spot against the run of play after Kyle Walker was penalised for an elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.”

12. The consecrated bread of the Eucharist.

    “Do you pray to the Holy Ghost when you suck your host? / Do you read who's dead in the Irish Post?”

verb

1. To perform the role of a host.

   “Our company will host the annual conference this year.”

   “I was terrible at hosting that show.”

   “I’ll be hosting tonight. I hope I’m not terrible.”

   “I am quite impressed with the December 10th issue in which it hosted the article by Nancy Langer, "Different Abilities, the Same Queer Pleasures."”

   “Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.”

2. (intransitive, obsolete)To lodge at an inn.

   “Where you shall host.”

3. (Internet)To run software made available to a remote user or process.

   “Kremvax hosts a variety of services.”

   “CMU/TEK TCP/IP software uses an excessive amount of cpu resources for terminal support both outbound, when accessing another system, and inbound, when the local system is hosting a session.”