dot-coms

Cultural  

1. Colloquial name given to start-up companies that sell goods and services over the Internet. Dot-coms proliferated in the 1990s, but many failed by early 2000. The name comes from the “.com” ending of the Internet address of such companies.

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Example Sentences

One difference: Many of the pure-play dot-coms didn’t even have revenue, while the AI companies are at least making some sales.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

“All this suggests that for AI companies, unlike dot-coms, the marginal cost of sales is relatively high, and the potential profit margin correspondingly thin,” Gave writes.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

And among dot-coms, it pretty much stood alone.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025

If the promise of AI turns out to be as much of a mirage as dot-coms did, stock investors may face a painful reckoning.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

For millions of people, crypto, like real estate and dot-coms before it, offered a way out of what has otherwise been a dead-end economy.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 19, 2022