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:
Reiner and Crystal met in 1976 on the set of the CBS sitcom “All in the Family” and became fast friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Dubbed “the barefoot revolutionary” for his refusal to wear shoes, Hilton was satirized on the BBC political sitcom “The Thick of It” as Stewart Pearson, the Tories’ “eco-friendly, media-savvy, blue-sky-thinking” communications director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Yet something told him to say yes when the creators of the sitcom “Taxi” wanted him to do a guest shot as a wedding officiant during the show’s first season in 1978.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Although Allen and the original series’ head writer, Susan Fales-Hill, shaped the show into the version considered a sitcom classic, Bill Cosby’s creator credit tainted its reputation.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
He went straight to the dimly lit employee break room, where a sitcom rerun played on the decrepit TV.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
“Roseanne” was the start of a series of female-led sitcoms, including “Grace Under Fire,” starring stand-up Brett Butler, and “Cybill,” a comedic vehicle for Cybill Shepherd, that would both launch and almost kill him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Cregger then made a living as a reliable funny guy delivering smarmy punchlines in a series of short-lived sitcoms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson went on to create the sitcoms Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
At the same time, they have become progressively vitriolic toward anyone who notes that the era’s realities were much harsher than what was shown on Nick at Nite sitcoms.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Everything I think of when I think of really living, living to the full—all my ideas are just the opening credits of sitcoms.
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
