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 shock only deepens when her one-night stand walks through the door. —Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026

There were other stories that bothered him more, like a post by a writer who recounted a chaste one-night stand with Tea Party activist and Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell that described her pubic hair. —Frank Digiacomo, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026

Or was Amelia’s hook-up with Cass more of a one-night stand? —Max Gao, Variety, 8 May 2026

The comedy lies in the unwavering sincerity with which every ridiculous twist is treated, from one-night stands with a cuy fighter and multiple fires to violent abductions and a heartbroken lover riding her motorcycle off a cliff. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026

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