headliners

noun

plural of headliner
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of headliners Rodrigo’s fest is slated to arrive during a summer that includes female-dominant lineups at festivals like All Things Go, Newport Folk Festival, and Lollapalooza (which boasts a high percentage of woman headliners, if not equity across the board). — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026 Lollapalooza’s 2026 headliners make that shift especially easy to see, given that quite a few of them are style juggernauts even outside of the performance realm. — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 28 July 2026 Each day’s primary headliners perform on the Bud Light and T-Mobile stages, with Perry’s featuring electronic acts. — Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026 Lorde, John Summit, Charli xcx, The Smashing Pumpkins, Olivia Dean, Jennie, Tate McRae and The XX are all scheduled to perform, and those are only just the headliners. — ABC News, 24 July 2026 Sugar Ray, Trevor Noah and Dwight Yoakam are among the headliners at the Pacific Amphitheatre. — Claire Wang, Oc Register, 23 July 2026 In addition to the Friday night standup comedian headliners, attendees at the 18th annual MTO will have the option of six events including a yacht party and a community service beach cleanup. — Sergy Odiduro, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026 The 11-minute spectacle welcomed four headliners in Shakira, Bieber, Madonna and BTS but barely gave any of them enough time to shine. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 19 July 2026 The inaugural World Cup halftime show has BTS, Justin Bieber, Madonna and Shakira as co-headliners, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin on behalf of the Global Citizen Education Fund. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headliners
  1. stars
  2. principals
Noun
  • The returning stars include Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and Channing Tatum.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 July 2026
  • Located just steps from Reims' majestic cathedral, his restaurant has earned two Michelin stars while establishing relationships with many of the region's most respected champagne producers.
    — Yuri Shima, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of stars
Noun
  • The five original Broadway principals — also including Amber Gray, as Persephone — got the old gang back together and went into the West End production five weeks before the film was shot in front of three live audiences.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 25 July 2026
  • The hit musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, won eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best Musical, and the 2020 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album with the five original principals of the Broadway company.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 24 July 2026
Definition of principals

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Cite this Entry

“Headliners.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headliners. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

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