one-liner
Americannoun
noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing one-liner
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.
When Craig spots Austin cracking a corny one-liner on the nightly news, he smiles like Santa Claus is real.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2025
Knox, the American student accused of murder, who spent four years in an Italian prison, is figuring out a one-liner.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2025
“Eventually Revolut froze the account. They told me there was nothing they could do. It felt like a one-liner to say sorry.”
From BBC • Oct. 19, 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
Something catches me off guard—a TV show, a funny one-liner from my dad, a comment in class—and I laugh like nothing ever happened.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
