soap opera
Americannoun
noun
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A radio or television serial with stock characters in domestic dramas that are noted for being sentimental and melodramatic. For example, She just watches soap operas all day long . This term originated in the mid-1930s and was so called because the sponsors of the earliest such radio shows were often soap manufacturers.
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Real-life situation resembling one that might occur in a soap opera, as in She just goes on and on about her various medical and family problems, one long soap opera . [1940s]
Etymology
Origin of soap opera
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; so called because soap manufacturers were among the original sponsors of such programs
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.
Both of these clubs have been soap operas all season.
From BBC
Those who enjoy their politics cut with a dash of soap opera will just have to wait.
From Los Angeles Times
If it was a soap opera, he'd have been barred from the pub and written out the script.
From BBC
Still, bickering over a voided hockey season arguably makes for a healthier relationship than whatever is going on in the soap opera otherwise known as Norwegian biathlon.
The colorful Moira Rose was a city socialite and former soap opera star before her family’s fortune turned and they wound up living in “the sticks,” surrounded by simple folk.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
