rom-com

noun

ˈräm-ˌkäm 

plural rom-coms

: romantic comedy

That's where the rom-com comes in, that wayward genre of sweet serendipity and forgivably thin plots set to rising music …

—Vogue

One of the film's pleasures is its movie within a movie, the rom-com "I Love You, I Love New York."

—Tad Friend

—often used before another noun

a silly rom-com plot

Does anybody cry funnier than Segel does in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the wonderful rom-com farce he not only starred in but wrote?

—Jim Windolf

Examples of rom-com in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The films on this list range from enlightening documentaries like My Octopus Teacher (2020) to charming rom-com classics like The Holiday (2006). —Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 4 June 2024

Ricky learned English as a teen by writing poetry and watching rom-com movies. —Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 3 June 2024

The Scarlett Johansson/Channing Tatum rom-com Fly Me to the Moon? —Bob Mondello, NPR, 31 May 2024

In the tense moments of a rom-com, the estranged couple will glance mournfully at each other at inopportune times—sometimes until the distracted Brad Pitt character gets hit by a car. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above