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

Method Man in Relationship Goals (2026) Miraculously, Method Man is a pretty great rom-com lead. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 25 Aug. 2026

Successful rom-coms about magazine staffers named Andy or Andie have become popular fodder for sequels as Hollywood continues to prioritize nostalgia. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026

Paramount Pictures is in early development on a sequel to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the beloved rom-com starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, a source close to the project confirms to Deadline. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026

Kate Hudson is trying to figure out how to gain a sequel to a rom-com classic after two decades. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Aug. 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