sitcom
Americannoun
-
sitcoms
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sitcom
First recorded in 1960–65; by shortening
Explanation
Sitcom is short for “situation comedy.” It’s a funny TV show with a realistic setting, like an apartment full of wacky roommates or a restaurant where a regular cast of characters cracks jokes from week to week. Sitcoms have been around since people began rolling their eyes at laugh tracks. I Love Lucy (1950’s) was an early sitcom; it was one that featured a married couple who had zany misunderstandings. On 30 Rock (2000’s), the situation was a bunch of oddballs in their office making a TV show. On Barney Miller, (1970’s) the situation was a normal police captain surrounded by weird coworkers. The basic elements of a sitcom stay the same from week to week.
Vocabulary lists containing sitcom
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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.
See Examples For:
Zach Hadel brings the bloody, madcap nature of the internet to his animated sitcom “Smiling Friends.”
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
A top-billed Curry takes the Sebastian Cabot role in this quite good straightforward reboot of the 1966 sitcom, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, of all people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Where it strays from sitcom formula is the nature of the situations in the comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Scott currently stars in the sitcom series “Shifting Gears,” which was recently renewed for a third season.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
It was like a moment from a television sitcom.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
The mismatch—the strictures of the business world and a galloping imagination—launched Kafka and his innumerable artistic progeny, which continue all the way to today’s deadpan sitcoms detailing strange doings at the office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Starting early in his career, sitcoms such as “Roseanne,” “Dharma and Greg,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory” had much of the action happening in the living room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Keith starred in several other sitcoms before later fronting shows about her passion for the British countryside.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
If you love sitcoms, know that Burrows, who died Friday, June 19, at the age of 85, planted many seeds of that affection.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
He took more time eating and looking at nature and wasted no time in front of TV sitcoms or “Movies of the Week.”
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
