name · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
US:/ˈpoʊl.tɚˌɡaɪst/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈpɒl.tə.ɡaɪst/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈpəʊl.təˌɡaɪst/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P OW1 L T ER0 G AY2 S T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
A planet in Lich star system, Milky Way Galaxy, Virgo constellation; One of the pair of planets that were the first exoplanets which were discovered. A planet in orbit of the pulsar Lich (PSR B1257+12)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences, planets
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An unseen ghost which makes noises and causes disruption, especially by causing physical objects to move or fly about.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: parapsychology, pseudoscience
Examples
A poltergeist haunts the house by moving objects around, making chain-rattling noises and throwing things.
The chapel is haunted by a demonic poltergeist.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a ghost that announces its presence with rapping and the creation of disorder
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: ghost
History
Etymology
From poltergeist, the supernatural entity. From orbiting a neutron star, a "dead" star, a star that no longer contains a fusion core, but which is radiating away its stored energy.
Unadapted borrowing from German Poltergeist, from poltern (“to rumble”) + Geist (“ghost”), cognates with English boulder and ghost, respectively.
Across languages
Translations
34 source translations are retained for this English entry.
