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
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
Georgiana Ralphs, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
The building is a replica of Ng Shing Gung, or the Temple of Five Gods, which was built in the Heinlenville Chinatown in 1887 and served as a hostel, community center and Chinese school.
—Sophie Luo, Mercury News, 27 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hostel
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Noun
Volunteering opportunities across each of these platforms are as vast and varied as any other form of travel, from hostels seeking receptionists, cleaners and party promoters, to surf schools in need of teachers, to local families looking for childcare workers.
—Georgiana Ralphs, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
The building is a replica of Ng Shing Gung, or the Temple of Five Gods, which was built in the Heinlenville Chinatown in 1887 and served as a hostel, community center and Chinese school.
—Sophie Luo, Mercury News, 27 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for hostel
Cite this Entry
“Hostel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hostel. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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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