Phrase guide

one-night stand

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An occasion when a performer or team of them (especially in vaudeville) expects to perform at a theater for a single evening.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A single sexual encounter between two individuals, where at least one of the partners has no immediate intention or expectation of establishing a longer-term sexual or romantic relationship.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: hit and run; pump and dump; wham, bam, thank you ma'am

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hit and run, pump and dump, wham, bam, thank you ma'am

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hookup

3

noun

Meaning 3

Either of the two partners involved in such a single sexual encounter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a performance in one place on one night only

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: performance

5

noun

Meaning 5

a brief sexual encounter lasting only for a single night

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he ran through a series of loveless one-night stands

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: promiscuity, promiscuousness, sleeping around

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 單場演出 /单场演出 — theatrical
  • Finnish: yksittäisnäytös — theatrical
  • French: soirée unique — theatrical
  • Italian: singola rappresentazione — theatrical
  • Polish: skok w bok — theatrical
  • Portuguese: apresentação única — theatrical
  • Spanish: representación única — theatrical
  • Welsh: unnos — theatrical
  • Arabic: لِقَاء جِنْسِيّ لِلَيْلَة وَاحِدَة (liqāʔ jinsiyy li-layla wāḥida) — sexual encounter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 一夜情 (yíyèqīng) — sexual encounter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 419 (four-one-nine) — sexual encounter
  • Czech: vztah na jednu noc — sexual encounter
  • Czech: jednorázovka — sexual encounter
  • Danish: engangsknald — sexual encounter
  • Danish: one-night stand — sexual encounter
  • Dutch: avontuurtje — sexual encounter
  • Dutch: onenightstand — sexual encounter
  • Esperanto: ununokta amoro — sexual encounter
  • Finnish: yhden yön juttu — sexual encounter
  • Finnish: hoito — sexual encounter
  • French: coup d'un soir — sexual encounter
  • French: coucherie — sexual encounter
  • French: aventure sans lendemain — sexual encounter
  • German: einmalige Angelegenheit — sexual encounter
  • German: One-Night-Stand — sexual encounter
  • Hebrew: סטוץ (stutz) — sexual encounter
  • Hungarian: egyéjszakás kaland — sexual encounter
  • Icelandic: einnar nætur gaman — sexual encounter
  • Icelandic: skyndikynni — sexual encounter
  • Indonesian: cinta satu malam — sexual encounter
  • Italian: una botta e via — sexual encounter
  • Japanese: 一夜限りの関係 (ichiya kagiri no kankei) — sexual encounter
  • Japanese: 一夜の情事 (ichiya no jōji) — sexual encounter
  • Korean: 원나잇 (wonnait) — sexual encounter
  • Norwegian Bokmål: one night stand — sexual encounter
  • Norwegian Bokmål: engangsligg — sexual encounter
  • Polish: skok w bok — sexual encounter
  • Portuguese: ficada — sexual encounter
  • Russian: рома́н на одну́ ночь (román na odnú nočʹ) — sexual encounter
  • Russian: случа́йная связь (slučájnaja svjazʹ) — sexual encounter
  • Serbo-Croatian: veza za jednu noć — sexual encounter
  • Sicilian: ficcata — sexual encounter
  • Sicilian: futtuta — sexual encounter
  • Sicilian: trummata — sexual encounter
  • Sicilian: azziccata — sexual encounter
  • Sicilian: nfilata — sexual encounter
  • Spanish: aventura de una noche — sexual encounter
  • Spanish: choque y fuga — sexual encounter
  • Swahili: ngono ya usiku mmoja — sexual encounter
  • Swedish: engångsligg — sexual encounter
  • Swedish: ragg — sexual encounter
  • Swedish: ligg — sexual encounter
  • Swedish: one-night stand — sexual encounter
  • Turkish: tek gecelik ilişki — sexual encounter
  • Vietnamese: tình một đêm — sexual encounter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 一夜情對象 /一夜情对象 (yīyèqíng duìxiàng) — either of the two partners
  • Czech: známost na jednu noc — either of the two partners
  • Czech: jednorázovka — either of the two partners
  • Dutch: onenightstand — either of the two partners
  • Finnish: yhden yön juttu — either of the two partners
  • Polish: zdradzający partner — either of the two partners
  • Portuguese: ficante — either of the two partners
  • Spanish: amante de una noche — either of the two partners
  • Vietnamese: tình một đêm — either of the two partners