one-night stand

noun

1

: a performance (as of a play or concert) given (as by a traveling group of actors or musicians) only once in each of a series of localities

2

a

: a locality used for one-night stands

b

: a stopover for a one-night stand

3

: a sexual encounter limited to a single occasion

also : a partner in such an encounter

Examples of one-night stand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film told the story of an underachieving stoner (Rogen) and an ambitious TV reporter (Katherine Heigl) who, after their one-night stand results in pregnancy, must navigate the complexities of becoming parents while getting to know each other. —Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025

Evie Moreno and Logan King had a memorable one-night stand. —Mia Sosa, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025

Queer William Lee (Daniel Craig) — a middle-aged American expat in 1950s Mexico City — spends his days lost in a haze of parties and one-night stands with younger men. —Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025

What starts as a one-night stand quickly spirals into something more complicated when Nick (Thomas Kretschmann), a powerful developer, gets involved and recruits Tom to seduce and manipulate Lilli into giving up her family's home. —EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for one-night stand

• analysand
• misunderstand
• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand