straight man

NOUN

comedian who sets up joke

Synonyms

STRONGEST

sidekick

WEAK

banana feed feeder foil second banana stooge straight person

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.

Some scenes introduce that character as the straight man.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make sense in this case,” Meyers said, playing the straight man.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 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

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 know a clean, straight man when I meet him and that's enough for me."

From Blake's Burden by Bindloss, Harold