Meaning & use
hospitality
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Meanings
noununcountable
The friendly, generous welcome and care that a host gives to guests or visitors, often with food, drink, and a place to stay.
Grammar: Has no plural; common patterns are 'show hospitality' and 'thank someone for their hospitality'.
Patterns
- show hospitality to someone
- thank someone for their hospitality
- offer hospitality
Thank you for your wonderful hospitality during our visit.
In her family, showing hospitality to strangers is a point of pride.
noununcountablebusiness
The industry that provides accommodation, food, drink, and entertainment to travelers and guests.
Grammar: Used with modifiers like 'the hospitality industry'; no plural in this sense.
Patterns
- the hospitality industry
- work in hospitality
- the hospitality sector
She spent ten years in hospitality before opening her own café.
The hotel and hospitality sector grew quickly after the new airport opened.
Common combinations
- show hospitality
- They showed us real hospitality, insisting we stay for dinner.
- warm hospitality
- The warmth of the hospitality made us feel at home immediately.
- the hospitality industry
- He studied business and now works in the hospitality industry.
- traditional hospitality
- Guests are welcomed with traditional hospitality, including tea and fresh bread.
Synonyms and how they differ
- welcome
- A welcome is the greeting or reception itself; hospitality covers the whole care of guests, including food and lodging.
- generosity
- Generosity is giving freely of anything; hospitality is generosity specifically directed toward guests.
Opposites
Word family
- hospitable adjective
- Welcoming and generous to guests, or said of a place that is pleasant for visitors.
- hospitably adverb
- In a welcoming, generous way toward guests.
- inhospitable adjective
- Unwelcoming to guests, or harsh and difficult to live in, like a desert.
Commonly confused: hospitality or hospital?
hospitality vs hospital
A hospital is a place where sick people are treated. Hospitality is the welcoming of guests and, as an industry, covers hotels and restaurants.
Practice
Thank you for your warm ___ during our stay at your home.
Choose one answer.
Warm hospitality means a friendly, generous welcome, which fits thanking a host. Hostility is the opposite meaning, and hospital is a place for medical care.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hospitality”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.