phantom

English Online Dictionary. What means phantom‎? What does phantom mean?

English

Alternative forms

• fantom (archaic)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fantome, fanteme, from Old French fantosme, fantasme, from Latin phantasma (“an apparition, specter; (in Late Latin also) appearance, image”), from Ancient Greek φάντασμα (phántasma, “phantasm, an appearance, image, apparition, specter”), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “I make visible”). Doublet of phantasm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæntəm/
• Rhymes: -æntəm
• Hyphenation: phan‧tom

Noun

phantom (countable and uncountable, plural phantoms)

1. A ghost or apparition.
2. Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; an image that appears only in the mind; an illusion or delusion.
3. (bridge) A placeholder for a pair of players when there are an odd number of pairs playing.
4. (medical imaging) A test object. A test phantom is an object that reproduces the characteristics of human tissue.
5. (colloquial, uncountable) Short for phantom power.

Synonyms

• ghost
• See also Thesaurus:ghost

Derived terms

Related terms

• fantasy

Translations

Adjective

phantom (not comparable)

1. Illusive.
2. Fictitious or nonexistent.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “phantom”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Hampton