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 author of bestselling rom-coms including her 2021 debut Better Than the Movies and the 2025 hit Fake Skating, Painter’s books already feature a certain cinematic flair. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026

The company first broke into film with the Universal rom-com Marry Me — a 2022 adaptation of one of its webcomics starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

That didn’t stop Bateman from starring in a rom-com inspired by his wife’s iconic Star Wars character. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 25 Sep. 2026

The Texas native broke out in 1993’s Dazed and Confused before becoming one of the biggest rom-com stars of the early 2000s, thanks to movies like The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 25 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rom-com

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