as in stars
the person who has the most important role in a play, movie, or TV show
a headliner on variety shows in the early days of TV
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Recent Examples of headliners
This year, some headliners include Marshmello, Kygo, Tiesto, Fisher, Disclosure, John Summit, and more.
—
Sydney Lake, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2026
While their genre peers’ fates have varied, Mumford & Sons remained perennial arena and festival headliners, with an ambitious midcareer streak in the studio.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Saturday’s headliners include Jhené Aiko, GloRilla, Ella Mai, Mýa, Joe and a set by DJ D-Nice featuring appearances from SWV, Robin Thicke, Sunshine Anderson and others.
—Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
Thursday's headliners are listed as My Chemical Romance and The Offspring.
—Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026
Filmmaker Spike Jonze and California Governor Gavin Newsom are among the headliners at Vox Media’s podcast stage during the South by Southwest Conference and Festival, which runs March 12–18 in Austin.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026
The festival dropped its full lineup Tuesday morning, which included 11 headliners over the three-day event.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Baltimore’s pitching has upside, with Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz among the headliners.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026
The festival — which focuses on Y2K era rock with past headliners like Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, and the Killers — has taken place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds every October from 2022 to 2025.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Sydney Lake, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2026
While their genre peers’ fates have varied, Mumford & Sons remained perennial arena and festival headliners, with an ambitious midcareer streak in the studio.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Saturday’s headliners include Jhené Aiko, GloRilla, Ella Mai, Mýa, Joe and a set by DJ D-Nice featuring appearances from SWV, Robin Thicke, Sunshine Anderson and others.
—Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
Thursday's headliners are listed as My Chemical Romance and The Offspring.
—Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026
Filmmaker Spike Jonze and California Governor Gavin Newsom are among the headliners at Vox Media’s podcast stage during the South by Southwest Conference and Festival, which runs March 12–18 in Austin.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026
The festival dropped its full lineup Tuesday morning, which included 11 headliners over the three-day event.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Baltimore’s pitching has upside, with Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz among the headliners.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026
The festival — which focuses on Y2K era rock with past headliners like Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, and the Killers — has taken place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds every October from 2022 to 2025.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headliners
Noun
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During the final stretch of 2025, Tien reached Beijing’s China Open final, captured his maiden tour title at Metz, France, and closed the season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals (for top players 20-and-younger) — results that marked him as one of the tour’s fastest-rising young stars.—
Douglas Robson,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Portside Wood Round Dining Table Set For dining under the sun or stars, this elevated dining set checks all the boxes.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Forty-five percent of the principals agreed that the state letter grade system helps their school to plan improvements, and 47 percent disagreed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
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The Oklahoman asked superintendents, principals, teachers, and guidance counselors from across the Oklahoma City area to participate in the Student of the Week program by sending nominations for their student.—
Darla Rivera,
Oklahoman,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Headliners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headliners. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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