1
: inn
2
: an inexpensive lodging facility for usually young travelers that typically has dormitory-style sleeping arrangements and sometimes offers meals and planned activities
called also youth hostel
3
chiefly British
: a supervised institutional residence or shelter (as for homeless people)
hosteled or hostelled; hosteling or hostelling
: to stay at hostels overnight in the course of traveling
Synonyms
Examples of hostel in a Sentence
Noun
in the old days, a traveler could spend the night at one of the hostels placed along the coach route
Recent Examples on the Web
Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
Later, between the 15th and 16th centuries, the mansion operated as a hostel, known as the the Hostal de Sant Pere.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Feb. 2024
There are a few other lighthouse lodgings on the West Coast, including the hostel at Pigeon Point in Pescadero and the fancy B&B at Heceta Head near Yachats in Oregon.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
Mandy and Roy walked by the hostel again that night.
—Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
Gopher tortoise burrows provide habitat not only for their shell-dwelling architects but also a host of other creatures that take advantage of the large network of tortoise tunnels — a kind of underground herpetological hostel.
—Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Months later, more than 200,000 Israelis unable to return home still live in hotels and hostels across the country.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
Sometimes Roy and Mandy walked down one particular street that had a backpacker hostel on it.
—Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
The sweep came just two days after a building in Queens was found to have also been converted into a makeshift hostel, cramming at least 74 migrants into the first floor and cellar of a furniture store.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2024
Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Sep. 2018
Of course, hosteling originated as a way for young backpackers to sleep safely and comfortably without the expense of a hotel.
—Rick Steves, miamiherald, 3 May 2018
Noun
The person ended up canceling, Fernandez said, but in their brief back-and-forth on WhatsApp, the job-seeker had provided clues about their possible location — a hostel called Don Jon’s.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
Later, between the 15th and 16th centuries, the mansion operated as a hostel, known as the the Hostal de Sant Pere.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Feb. 2024
There are a few other lighthouse lodgings on the West Coast, including the hostel at Pigeon Point in Pescadero and the fancy B&B at Heceta Head near Yachats in Oregon.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
Mandy and Roy walked by the hostel again that night.
—Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
Gopher tortoise burrows provide habitat not only for their shell-dwelling architects but also a host of other creatures that take advantage of the large network of tortoise tunnels — a kind of underground herpetological hostel.
—Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Months later, more than 200,000 Israelis unable to return home still live in hotels and hostels across the country.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
Sometimes Roy and Mandy walked down one particular street that had a backpacker hostel on it.
—Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
The sweep came just two days after a building in Queens was found to have also been converted into a makeshift hostel, cramming at least 74 migrants into the first floor and cellar of a furniture store.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
That’s when the first upscale hostels appeared, determinedly different from those hosteling clichés.
—Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Sep. 2018
Of course, hosteling originated as a way for young backpackers to sleep safely and comfortably without the expense of a hotel.
—Rick Steves, miamiherald, 3 May 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hostel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hostel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostel. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
hostel
noun
hos·tel
ˈhäs-tᵊl 
chiefly British
: housing maintained by a public or private organization or institution
especially
: a rest home or rehabilitation center for the chronically ill, the aged, or the physically disabled
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