hostel

[hos-tl]

noun

1. Also called youth hostel. an inexpensive, supervised lodging place for young people on bicycle trips, hikes, etc.

2. (formerly) a residence for the exclusive use of boarding Indigenous students, separate from but close to any of a series of day schools in northern Canada that were operated or funded by the federal government and were themselves open to students of any ethnicity.

3. British.,  a student residence at a university or boarding school.

4. an inn.

verb (used without object)

hosteled, hosteling , hostelled, hostelling .

1. to travel, lodging each night at a hostel.

hostel

/ ˈhɒstəl /

noun

1. a building providing overnight accommodation, as for the homeless, etc

2. See youth hostel

3. a supervised lodging house for nurses, workers, etc

4. archaic,  another word for hostelry

Word History and Origins

Origin of hostel¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English (h)ostel, from Old French, from Late Latin hospitāle “guest room”; hospital

Word History and Origins

Origin of hostel¹

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin hospitāle hospice; see _hospital

Example Sentences

Or her Delhi architecture school days, when she was too broke for jewellery and wore "cow beads" - fat glass beads strung across cow horns, bought off herdsmen near the hostel.

From BBC

At Zandvoort this weekend, Burgess has clawed money back by staying in a capsule hostel for the first time.

From BBC

In recent times there was a plan to redevelop it as a 41-bedroom hostel, and a separate proposal to turn it into a museum and visitor attraction at a cost of £13m.

From BBC

Homeless people at a hostel in Belfast have said living conditions at the facility, including a bed bug infestation, are making them ill.

From BBC

In one case, Ipswich Borough Council and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council had argued that hotels in their patches were being illegally changed into hostels - pretty complex issues relating to local planning controls.

From BBC

Related Words

• hotel 
• inn