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

If this were a ’90s rom-com, women would be expected to wear staggering stilettos and flirty little dresses. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2025

Her rom-com feature, Ming & the Banana, earned a spot in the second round of Sundance’s Development Track. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2025

Why is there this seemingly sudden push for rom-coms, or in millennial speak, girly pop films? —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025

The actress also made her directorial debut with the zombie rom-com Lisa Frankenstein. —Emily Weaver, People.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rom-com

• aplomb
• balaam
• cocom
• embalm
• islam
• pogrom
• salaam
• sitcom
• balm
• bom
• bomb
• calm