Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

one-night stand

noun
Save Word

Definition of one-night stand

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
2a : 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 Madison's doctor is important because her one-night stand with Kevin (Justin Hartley) resulted in a pregnancy (twins!), and her doctor convinces her to tell Kevin. — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, "'This Is Us' Season 4 finale reveals pregnancy and marriage shockers," 26 Mar. 2020 Alfredo Narciso and Caroline Neff take part in a reading of Bess Wohl’s drama about a one-night stand between a female American tourist and a local Lothario. — Matt Cooper, Los Angeles Times, "Been meaning to learn more about Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham? Watch here," 29 Apr. 2020 Mia is the creative, bawdy one whose ideas are the lifeblood of the company’s sole standout product — a makeup kit for a one-night stand. — Garrett Mitchell, Detroit Free Press, "The laughs are recycled in lifeless ‘Like a Boss’," 9 Jan. 2020 What was supposed to be a shallow, toot-it-and-boot-it one-night stand has grown and flourished to something far more meaningful. — Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, "Kathy Griffin is now married, thanks to Lily Tomlin," 2 Jan. 2020 The result of Qui-Gon Jinn's weirdest one-night stand? — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "TV Technica 2019: These were our favorite shows and binges this year," 28 Dec. 2019 The play followed a California housewife and married New Jersey accountant who have a one-night stand at a country inn, then return to renew their affair one weekend each year for two decades. — Harrison Smith, Washington Post, "Bernard Slade, Tony-nominated playwright who created TV’s ‘Partridge Family,’ dies at 89," 31 Oct. 2019 Mia is the creative, bawdy one whose ideas are the lifeblood of the company's sole standout product — a makeup kit for a one-night stand. — Garrett Mitchell, azcentral, "Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne can't elevate 'Like a Boss' to the C-suite," 8 Jan. 2020 The video begins with a blonde woman walking barefoot out of Horan’s apartment after a one-night stand. — Helen Murphy, PEOPLE.com, "Niall Horan Releases Playful New Song and Music Video 'Nice to Meet Ya': Watch," 4 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'one-night stand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of one-night stand

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about one-night stand

Time Traveler for one-night stand

Time Traveler

The first known use of one-night stand was in 1880

See more words from the same year

Statistics for one-night stand

Last Updated

1 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“One-night stand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-night%20stand. Accessed 11 Jul. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for one-night stand

one-night stand

noun

English Language Learners Definition of one-night stand

: a situation in which you have sex with someone once and you do not continue in a relationship afterwards also : one of the people involved in this situation
: a performance of a play, concert, etc., that is given only once in a particular place

See the full definition for one-night stand in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on one-night stand

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with one-night stand

Comments on one-night stand

What made you want to look up one-night stand? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

confabulate

Listen to the pronunciation of confabulate

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words for Summer: A Quiz

  • a closeup of a sunflower
  • Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games