Romeo and Juliet

American

noun

a tragedy (produced between 1591 and 1596) by Shakespeare.

Romeo and Juliet Cultural

A tragedy by William Shakespeare about two “star-crossed lovers” (see also star-crossed lovers) whose passionate love for each other ends in death because of the senseless feud between their families. The line “Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” is well known.

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Figuratively, a “Romeo” is an amorous young man.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Finnian graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in July 2019 and had previously played the role of Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

His own narrative, however, fails to make Romeo and Juliet live anew as fresh characters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

Thompson: The masquerade ball made me think about Romeo and Juliet a lot.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026

Sam Heughan stars in Romeo and Juliet at the RCS in 1999, alongside Alana Hood.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

Today they were supposed to be discussing Romeo and Juliet, but nobody wanted to talk.

From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023