ghosts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of ghost.

   Local legend claims that several ghosts wander the abandoned mill at night.

   The novel follows a family haunted by the ghosts of their ancestors.

   Note

   One spelling, two jobs: ghosts is also the verb form after he or she, so context decides between the spirits themselves and someone doing the ghosting. As a noun plural it reaches well past apparitions. It covers the false images a camera lens throws, the doubled outlines on a television screen, and even ghostwriters, by shortening. The singular can be uncountable, but ghosts is always counted: three ghosts, many ghosts.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of ghost.

   Whenever a date gets serious, she ghosts the other person without explanation.

   The writer ghosts memoirs for celebrities who lack the time to write them.

   Note

   Every use of the verb takes this -s form after a singular subject: a memory ghosts someone, an interface ghosts a menu item it cannot offer, a utility ghosts a file. All of these uses are transitive, so the form normally wants an object. The literary senses "haunt" and "tint with a ghostly hue" sit beside slang for killing, so check the register before you reach for it.

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