play host to

idiomatic phrase

: to serve as a host for (someone or something)

Each year, the city plays host to the film festival for one week.

As travel to the Third World has expanded, so, too, has concern about the damage wrought by mass tourism on the people and places that play host to wandering North Americans and Europeans.—

Ira Silver

St. John's meets No. 3-ranked Duke and the Big East rival Miami on the road, and will play host to No. 4 Syracuse, No. 13 Connecticut and surging Seton Hall at the Garden.—

Jon Drape

The grasslands play host to [=provide a home for] long-billed curlews and sage grouse, and eagles, osprey and coyotes scavenge the area.—

Kay Clark

Examples of play host to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Instead, Titan’s rivers and seas are filled with a mix of light hydrocarbons, mostly methane and ethane—and a new study suggests that those liquid bodies may play host to waves that have shaped their coastlines via erosion. —

Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 20 June 2024 The restaurant played host to the Episode 9 challenge that focused on Indigenous cuisine. —

Steven Martinez, Journal Sentinel, 14 June 2024 The Sparks will play host to the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at 6 p.m. —

Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2024 This theme comes into sharper focus as your 8th House of Shared Resources plays host to a potent New Moon in the skies above, initiating deeper bonds with the important people in your life. —

Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 6 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for play host to

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play host to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.