one-liner

noun

one-lin·​er ˌwən-ˈlī-nər How to pronounce one-liner (audio)
Synonyms of one-linernext
1
: a very succinct joke or witticism
2
: a succinct or meaningful and especially accurate statement

Synonyms of one-liner

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Examples of one-liner in a Sentence

the senator deftly inserted some smart one-liners into an otherwise sober speech
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Jaylen Brown has an NBA Finals MVP on his resume and is serving up one-liners about lamb and gravy in his rivalry with a former Boston teammate. — Dan Gelston, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026 Magliano and Young’s Weekend Update featured more of the brutal, satirical one-liners that have made the sequence a far-and-away fan favorite. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2026 At the end of the film, Paul Giamatti’s David Slade (a government director at the Department of Energy) offers a reassuring one-liner to Tatiana Maslany’s character about the factual nature of science. — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026 The senator, who is known for his homespun one-liners, declined to speculate about taking on Vice President JD Vance in 2028. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for one-liner

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of one-liner was in 1962

Rhymes for one-liner

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Browse Nearby Words

one-line octave
one-liner
one-lung
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Cite this Entry

“One-liner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one-liner. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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