headliner
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of headliner
Explanation
A headliner is the main act. At a rock concert, you usually have to sit through an opening band or two before the headliner comes on stage. The headliner is the biggest star or the main event. The headliner at a jazz festival is the most popular performer, the one most audience members came to see, and the headliner of a musical theater review is the star of the show. In the early 1890's, a headliner worked for a newspaper — the word originally meant "one who writes headlines." By the end of that decade, it had come to also mean "one who stars in a performance."
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.
"Dinosaurs go from being co-stars to the headliner," Srivastava said.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
After West, who now goes by Ye, was announced as the headliner to the festival, major festival sponsors like PepsiCo, Diageo and Anheuser-Busch InBev began dropping out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
During her debut at Coachella in 2024, she vowed to return as a headliner.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Coachella kicked off Friday with performances from headliner Sabrina Carpenter, Moby, Devo, and surprise appearances from Lizzo, David Lee Roth and HUNTR/X, who performed their Oscar-winning "Golden" alongside KATSEYE.
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
The headliner in the 5,000 meters— three miles and 188 yards—was Norman Bright, a twenty-six-year-old schoolteacher.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
