WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
second banana, [Informal.]
  1. Informal Termsa comic who supports the leading comedian, often as a straight man, esp. in burlesque or vaudeville.
  2. any person who plays a secondary role or serves in a subsidiary capacity. Cf. top banana. 
  • 1950–55

(Advertisement)

Forum discussions with the word(s) "second banana" in the title:


Look up "second banana" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "second banana" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

iPhone app store