one-night stand

American  

[wuhn-nahyt stand] / ˈwʌnˌnaɪt ˈstænd /

noun

one-night stands plural

1. a single performance in one locale, as by a touring theatrical company, before moving on to the next engagement.

2. a place where such a performance is given.

3. Slang.

   1. a single, unrepeated sexual encounter, as one lasting for just one night.

   2. a participant in such an encounter.

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one-night stand British  

noun

1. a performance given only once at any one place

2. informal

   1. a sexual encounter lasting only one evening or night

   2. a person regarded as being only suitable for such an encounter

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• one-night stands
  plural

Etymology

Origin of one-night stand

one-night stand def. 1 is an Americanism dating back to 1875–80; one-night stand def. 3 was first recorded in 1935–40.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

one-night stand

They even elicited testimony from Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, that Cohen had promised to “rain legal hell on” her if she ever told the story of her one-night stand with Trump.

From Slate ● May 8, 2024

To pay homage to their lengthy one-night stand that turned into a lifelong commitment, Ms. Lopez surprised Mr. Rogers with a custom flag to hang on the mobile minibar and later at home.

From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2021

It’s also vaguely annoying that she is made to suffer from a one-night stand by having a man, no matter how attractive, live on inside her head, constantly talking and interrupting her train of thought.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2020

Jess is adamant that the daughter Sam fathered with her, the result of their one-night stand, is meant to be the island's true leader, its Mother.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2020

Applications for time had to be made individually to every manager direct, even in the case of the most obscure one-night stand.

From Charles Frohman: Manager and Man by Marcosson, Isaac Frederick