sitcom
Americannoun
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:
He shared that he got his first gig thanks to comedian Gabriel Iglesias, who he worked with on the Netflix sitcom “Mr. Iglesias.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Neither Wilde nor Rogen would be out of place in a ’50s-era sitcom.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
His first book, “Fresh Off the Boat,” became the longest-running network sitcom centered on an Asian American family, even as Huang publicly distanced himself from the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Dame Penelope Keith was one of Britain's best-loved comedy actresses thanks to her inimitable portrayal of Margo Leadbeatter in 1970s sitcom The Good Life, among other roles.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
He steps back like a 1950s sitcom dad and cocks his head, holding his arms out in the universal code for “Aw, come on, give me a hug!”
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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
“My parents wouldn’t let me watch a lot of sitcoms because the kids talked back at their parents,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for her roles in the classic 1970s British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, has died at the age of 86.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Family sitcoms like “The Donna Reed Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” continued with this tradition into the 1960s, but as sitcom story concepts became more complex, the medium required more from show openers.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
Normally, the newsfeeds didn’t interrupt everyone’s interactive sitcoms and soap operas unless something really major had happened.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
