phantoms

5 definitions • 5 examples

a spirit of a dead person believed by some to visit the living as a pale, almost transparent form of a person, animal, or other object

like a ghost:

A phantom coach is said to pass through the grounds of this house when there's a full moon.

humorous The phantom wine-drinker has been around (= an unknown person has been drinking the wine)!

used to describe something that you imagine exists or that appears to exist, although in fact it does not:

Although she had to have her leg amputated, she still feels as though she's got a phantom limb.

They discovered it was a phantom organization set up for the processing of drug profits.

UK Although she grew bigger, she later discovered it was a phantom (US false) pregnancy.

something that appears or seems to exist but is not real or is imagined

A phantom is also a ghost.