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headliner

/ˌhɛdˈlaɪnər/
IPA guide

Other forms: headliners

A headliner is the main act. At a rock concert, you usually have to sit through an opening band or two before the headliner comes on stage.

The headliner is the biggest star or the main event. The headliner at a jazz festival is the most popular performer, the one most audience members came to see, and the headliner of a musical theater review is the star of the show. In the early 1890's, a headliner worked for a newspaper — the word originally meant "one who writes headlines." By the end of that decade, it had come to also mean "one who stars in a performance."

Definitions of headliner
  1. noun
    a performer who receives prominent billing
    synonyms: star
    see moresee less
    type of:
    performer, performing artist
    an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘headliner'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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