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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or an apparition.
  2. n. Something elusive or delusive.
  3. n. An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.
  4. n. Something dreaded or despised.
  5. adj. Resembling, characteristic of, or being a phantom; illusive.
  6. adj. Fictitious; nonexistent: phantom employees on the payroll.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Appearance merely; illusion; unreality; fancy; delusion; deception; deceit.
  2. n. A phantasm; a specter or apparition; an imagined vision; an optical illusion.
  3. n. Same as manikin, 2. Synonyms Apparition, etc. See ghost.
  4. Apparent merely; illusive; spectral; ghostly: as, a phantom ship.
  5. n. A phantom crystal.
  6. n. A map or diagram of the magnetic field made by strewing iron filings upon a plate of glass-or other smooth surface and allowing them to arrange themselves along the lines of force.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or apparition; something elusive or delusive.
  2. n. An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion.
  3. adj. illusive
  4. adj. fictitious or nonexistent

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. That which has only an apparent existence; an apparition; a specter; a phantasm; a sprite; an airy spirit; an ideal image.
  2. adj. Being, or of the nature of, a phantom.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a ghostly appearing figure
  2. n. something existing in perception only
  3. adj. something apparently sensed but having no physical reality

Etymologies

  1. Middle English fantom, from Old French fantosme, probably from Vulgar Latin *phantauma, from Greek dialectal *phantagma, from Greek phantasma; see phantasm.

Examples

  • “But he didn't know that Xerox created what it called a "phantom account" for his 1985 payout, credited it with hypothetical interest pegged to stock-market returns—often in the double digits—and subtracted the total from his pension.”

    The Wall Street Journal: When Benefits Bite Back

  • “At Jacques Torres , chocolatier clerk Katie Bast admits to seeding the tip jar with what she called "phantom dollars"—money from her own pocket.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Tip the Iceberg

  • “It documents what it calls phantom aid that's pledged by the US and other countries but never shows up.”

    Afghanistan - The Other Lost War

  • “We were also given what they call phantom stock for bonuses at the end of the year when we had a good profitable year.”

    CNN Transcript Jul 7, 2006

  • “I remember on Saturday I started to feel a little bit of what they call phantom pain and it was very freaky.”

    Simon & Schuster: Soul Surfer

  • “The party says Canadians may be paying up to $20 million a year for what it calls "phantom gas".”

    Thestar.com - Home Page

  • “Now, after more than two and a half years of war, we on the other side know that the "phantom" is a grim and bloody reality, for we have known the hellish horrors which it perpetrates not only in battle, but in the peaceful villages and country.”

    The Prussian Mind

  • “That he had never heard the word phantom connected to the phrase was an unusual tribute to Vanko’s reputation.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Big Scam

  • “I think avoiding litigation or physical assault by the ‘exposed party’ could be a mitigating factor in phantom writing.”

    Who wrote that trashy celeb memoir?

  • “Pensioner Donald Reddell described losing £3,000 in phantom withdrawals from ATMs even though his Barclaycard had only ever been used in a cash machine to change the pin, and was then placed in his safe.”

    The Guardian: Phantom cash machine withdrawals can haunt consumers

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘phantom’.

Comments

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  • bilby I remember references to 'Peter the Phantom Puller', the offscreen hand who slid panels aside, on the game show Blankety Blanks. Many moons ago.

    I wish I did not remember this. Feb 21, 2011

  • Stacie Brunner i use this word as a verb -- use it to replace the (extremely boring) word disappear.


    ex: 'pulled a phantom last night' ... 'sorry i phantomed on ya...'
    Feb 21, 2011

  • skipvia Zorro. See A Horse is a Horse Feb 1, 2008

  • sigi phantastic word, mysterious; never seen, but always there and appearing just when you do not ecpect it!!!!! Jan 25, 2008

‘phantom’ has been looked up 1366 times, loved by 9 people, added to 46 lists, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 14.