has-been
Americannoun
-
has-beens
plural
noun
Usage
What does has-been mean? Has-been is a negative term for a person who is considered to have lost or to be far removed from the success, popularity, or skill that they once had. Has-been is used as an insult. It’s most often applied to famous people, such as athletes and actors—to be called a has-been, a person has to have been known for having an outstanding quality. Another insulting term based on has-been is never-was, which is intended to suggest that a person was never known for having any outstanding qualities. It’s typically used in conjunction with has-been to insult someone in an even worse way, as in You’re not even a has-been—you’re a never-was! Another less-common term formed in the same way is could-have-been, referring to a person who never became successful but could have. This can be an insult or a compliment, depending on how it’s used. Example: I don’t need advice from some has-been—I want to learn from someone who’s been able to stay in the game.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of has-been
First recorded in 1600–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Slattery character is a sad-sack has-been living in a garage, unable to get his former colleague even to respond to a text message.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Restored concert footage in Baz Luhrmann’s new documentary, “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” challenges the idea that the King was a has-been in the years before his death.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
But what if you’d taken this role about a Hollywood has-been and the show flopped?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
Among other things, he has called you a fraudster and a failed political has-been, but you’re not responding in kind.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2025
“Ibtihaj, you don’t have to be a has-been already,” Mom consoled me.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
For not dismissing them as has-beens, as American society far too often does with anything that isn’t young.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
When Stokes finally broke the media blackout, he clarified the "has-beens" comment and responded to Johnson by saying England could be called "rubbish", rather than arrogant.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2025
What consequential life experiences have I missed, taunting my eyeballs, indulging this social media imp turned experimental pugilist as he bumbles around the ring with has-beens and never-weres?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
Leading into Perth, Stokes called the former players who had criticised England's low-key build up as "has-beens" -- and that came back to bite him.
From Barron's ● Nov. 23, 2025
You’d find the high school phenoms running circles around the overweight has-beens, guys who’d effortlessly played above-the-rim years ago now trying to catch their breath and salvage what was left of their once-stylish games.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
