Definition of "phantom" []

• Something apparently seen, heard, or sensed, but having no physical reality; a ghost or an apparition. (noun)
• Something elusive or delusive. (noun)
• An image that appears only in the mind; an illusion. (noun)
• Something dreaded or despised. (noun)
• Resembling, characteristic of, or being a phantom; illusive. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "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."
• "At Jacques Torres , chocolatier clerk Katie Bast admits to seeding the tip jar with what she called "phantom dollars"—money from her own pocket."
• "It documents what it calls phantom aid that's pledged by the US and other countries but never shows up."