A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. Some stand-up comedians use props, music, or magic tricks in their acts.

Stand-up comedy is perhaps the easiest field of entertainment for new talent to enter, because many smaller venues hold "open mic" events where the inexperienced can perform comedy before a live audience.

However, perhaps more than any other performer, the stand-up comedian is at the mercy of the audience, which is an integral element of the act.

A truly adept stand-up comedian must nimbly play off the mood and tastes of any particular audience, and adjust his or her routine accordingly. The test of a master stand-up comedian is the ability to not only face down a "heckler," but win over and entertain the rest of the crowd with a retort.

American stand-up comedy has its roots in various traditions of entertainment popular in the late 19th century, ranging from vaudeville and humorist monologues (with Mark Twain a notable master), to Yiddish theatre and circus clown routines. Most early comedians were merely viewed as "joke tellers," who warmed up the audience as an opening act, or kept the crowds entertained during intermissions.