Meanings
plural second bananas
- colloquialidiomaticA comedian who plays a secondary or supporting role, especially as straight man and traditionally in vaudeville or burlesque theatre.
He grew disenchanted with playing second banana and never getting credit for the laughter.
- colloquialidiomaticA person who serves in a supporting, secondary, or subsidiary capacity; an assistant.
The plumber left his second banana behind, to finish installing my new sink.
1 more example
When you want to be the boss, but you can't, it's not a lot of fun to be second banana.
2012 August 30, Michael Smyth, “The lifeboat is filling up”, in The Province
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsomeone who serves in a subordinate capacity or plays a secondary role
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
second banana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20banana
“second banana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20banana. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “second banana,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second%20banana.
Source: second banana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.