one-liner

American  

[wuhn-lahy-ner] / ˈwʌnˈlaɪ nər /

noun

1. a brief joke or amusing remark.

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one-liner British  

noun

1. informal a short joke or witty remark or riposte

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Etymology

Origin of one-liner

1965–70, one line + -er ¹

Explanation

A one-liner is a joke or clever remark expressed in a single sentence, with a brief setup and a clever twist at the end. As Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist everything, except temptation." The beauty of a one-liner lies in its efficiency. There's no long buildup; it gets straight to the (funny) point. One-liners often rely on wordplay or surprise endings that catch listeners off guard. A popular one-liner is "I'm on a seafood diet — I see food, and I eat it!" Some standup comedians rely heavily on one-liners in their performances, keeping the audience rolling in the aisles! These "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" jokes show that sometimes brevity truly is the soul of wit.

Example Sentences

Political observers caution against reading too much into a salty one-liner.

From Salon • Aug. 23, 2025

So it’s whether I can take the one-liner absurdity and blend it with real truths about my own life.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2025

She added: "He was always the first to help people in need. Brimming with empathy and living for the present, he would always have a funny one-liner up his sleeve making everyone around him laugh."

From BBC • May 28, 2024

“I don’t like one-liner buildings where you kind of walk in and you get it all in one shot. It should be more of an accumulation of events and experiences and perceptions.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2024

One of the reasons laughter is so effective as a tool for persuasion—and any stand-up comic who has ever seen off a heckler with a zinging one-liner knows this—is that laughter is involuntary assent.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• gag
• joke
• wisecrack
• witticism
• zinger