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

She’s set to make her acting debut in an upcoming film from rom-com icon Nancy Meyers. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026

Most of the panelists favored leaning into specificity and the details that lovers of the genre latch onto while consuming a book, show or rom-com film. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 27 July 2026

He’s also starred in a few swoon-worthy rom-coms over the years, including All My Life, Love Hard, Scrambled and Netflix’s recent release, Voicemails for Isabelle. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 25 July 2026

After Fire and Ash, Netflix’s rom-com Voicemails for Isabelle finished second on the movie chart with 748 million minutes of watch time. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 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