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.

It’s the closest O’Hara gets to playing the straight man, if a straight man was a mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

I put the look on and I was like, "Yes, it's very nice for a straight man, this is the look we should go for."

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2025

The two have the rapport of an experienced comedy pairing: Larry King’s straight man to Schwartz’s rambunctious troublemaker.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

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

Cathcart's a straight man, and as they can't sell the Adelaide without permission from us, we'll get some of our money, although it's hardly likely the estate will realize enough to go around.

From Thrice Armed by Bindloss, Harold