one-night stand

noun

1

: a performance (as of a play or concert) given (as by a traveling group of actors or musicians) only once in each of a series of localities

2

a

: a locality used for one-night stands

b

: a stopover for a one-night stand

3

: a sexual encounter limited to a single occasion

also : a partner in such an encounter

Examples of one-night stand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is because, unlike a one-night stand or a drunken tryst, emotional cheating revolves around the deeper facets of intimacy—the truly personal ones. —Christina Pérez, Vogue, 31 Mar. 2025

As fans of Meredith Grey's chaotic love life can probably guess, the scene in question was her one-night stand with T.R. Knight's George O' Malley. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 19 Mar. 2025

Representatives of the Guthrie were in Hutchinson to make arrangements for a Hutchinson opening of the 10-week tour of one-night stands in 50 to 60 cities around the region. —Kay Johnson, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

Whatever cards she’s dealt—not least professional humiliation and an accidental pregnancy (paternity unclear, thanks to separate one-night stands and a box of expired eco-friendly condoms)—she muddles through with gusto. —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for one-night stand

• analysand
• misunderstand
• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand