ghost

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [C] the spirit of a dead person that a living person believes they can see or hear: Do you believe in ghosts (= believe that they exist)? * the ghost of her father that had come back to haunt her * He looked as if he had seen a ghost (= looked very frightened). 2 [C] the memory of sth, especially sth bad: The ghost of anti-Semitism still haunts Europe. 3 [sing.] ~ of sth a very slight amount of sth that is left behind or that you are not sure really exists: There was a ghost of a smile on his face. * You don't have a ghost of a chance (= you have no chance). 4 [sing.] a second image on a television screen that is not as clear as the first, caused by a fault IDIOMS give up the ghost 1 to die 2 (humorous) (of a machine) to stop working: My car finally gave up the ghost. moreatFORMER verb 1 = GHOSTWRITE 2 [V+adv./prep.] (literary) to move without making a sound: They ghosted up the smooth waters of the river.