straight man
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of straight man
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
I put the look on and I was like, "Yes, it's very nice for a straight man, this is the look we should go for."
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2025
Mir, a high-strung anxious perfectionist, was written as more of the audience stand-in, the straight man.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2025
It’s a lot more development than I think many people would have expected for this character who, in the sitcom, functions as the straight man.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
But he has grown into his role at “Saturday Night Live,” proving to be an especially strong straight man adept at the comedy of embarrassment.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
I ’lows Father Lefleur’s a straight man, an’ll set you on the right trail, Davi’.
From In the Brooding Wild by Cullum, Ridgwell
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.
