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house guest

house guest

14 2.1
A person who is invited to stay in someone's home
  • noun
  • /ˈhaʊs ˌɡɛst/
translation icon : huésped
  • We have a house guest.

Who is going to be a polite house guest, let's put it that way.

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Examples

  • You're our house guest.

  • We haven't had house guests for many months now.

  • We're starting with that because it's nice for the house guests to feel welcome.

  • Yeah, who is this house guest, anyway?

  • Please explain our new house guests to your children.

  • Now, my house guest will be able to do the same.

    Blog text (22)
  • By the way, I'd like you to meet my new house guest.

  • We wanted you here with us, but we had an unexpected house guest.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Cody is our house guest.

  • By the way, I'd like you to meet my new house guest.

Synonyms

guest
vshouse guest
1.0

A person invited to someone's home, hotel, restaurant, or event

is limited to being invited to stay and be entertained in someone's home
houseguest
vshouse guest
17 2.3

A person who stays in someone else's home as a guest

is the same meaning but written as two words instead of one
overnighter
vshouse guest
1 5.1

A person who stays somewhere for one night as a guest

is invited to stay and be entertained specifically in someone's home

How Long

tenant
248 3.0
boarder
3.4
house guest
14 2.1
visitor
908 1.0
overnight
11 2.5

Surface Forms

house guest singular
house guests plural

Morphology

house + guest

The meaning 'a person invited to stay in someone's home' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'house' (home/building) and 'guest' (person receiving hospitality). This noun–noun composition is a common, literal pattern across languages and follows standard English compounding/collocation rules, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

House guest comes from the simple image of a guest who stays in your house. Families have long welcomed travelers into their homes to eat and sleep, so the phrase means 'a person invited to stay and be entertained'.