: one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity
Examples of has-been in a Sentence
now a has-been, the actor's been reduced to appearing on a third-rate reality show
Recent Examples on the Web
DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Sonny strides onto the track with unruffled cool—a Pitt signature—and is laconic enough to endure a series of press conferences at which journalists are quick to label him a has-been.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Sun-soaked, punk rock ’70s California, a fraught family safari in Africa, a frustrated has-been and a digital future portrayed in a PowerPoint presentation show how disparate lives can affect each other.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Her being nominated for playing a grotesque has-been is, at the very least, a delicious irony.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
This isn’t a turn of events that Macchio, 63, possibly could have expected just a few years ago, when most of Hollywood had dismissed him as an Eighties has-been.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2025
The undaunted political has-been went on to found The Carter Center, which pioneered election monitoring and sent watchdogs to 81 elections in 33 countries.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 30 Dec. 2024
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Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Sonny strides onto the track with unruffled cool—a Pitt signature—and is laconic enough to endure a series of press conferences at which journalists are quick to label him a has-been.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Sun-soaked, punk rock ’70s California, a fraught family safari in Africa, a frustrated has-been and a digital future portrayed in a PowerPoint presentation show how disparate lives can affect each other.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Her being nominated for playing a grotesque has-been is, at the very least, a delicious irony.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
This isn’t a turn of events that Macchio, 63, possibly could have expected just a few years ago, when most of Hollywood had dismissed him as an Eighties has-been.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2025
The undaunted political has-been went on to found The Carter Center, which pioneered election monitoring and sent watchdogs to 81 elections in 33 countries.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 30 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Has-been.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/has-been. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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