dot-com
C1/C2Informal, Business, Journalism
Definition
Meaning
A company whose primary business is conducted via the internet, especially one with a website address ending in ".com".
Pertaining to or characteristic of the period of rapid growth and investment in internet-based businesses in the late 1990s and early 2000s, or more broadly, the culture and operational model of such companies.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is strongly associated with the historical period known as the 'dot-com bubble' (or boom and bust). It can function as a noun (the company), an attributive adjective (describing the company or era), and informally as a verb.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling: Typically hyphenated ('dot-com') in both, though the unhyphenated 'dotcom' is also common, especially in company names. The hyphenated form is more standard in formal writing.
Connotations
Identical connotations in both varieties, heavily tied to the late-1990s tech bubble.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American English media due to the geographic origin of the phenomenon, but the term is fully established in British English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Adj] dot-com [Noun] (e.g., a failed dot-com venture)the dot-com [of something] (e.g., the dot-com of the early 2000s)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “ride the dot-com wave”
- “survive the dot-com crash”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to a business model, investment history, or a specific company sector. 'Their revenue model is pure dot-com.'
Academic
Used in economics, business history, or media studies to analyse the late-1990s economic phenomenon.
Everyday
Used to describe a company or refer back to the historical period. 'He made his money in the dot-com days.'
Technical
Less common in pure computing; more frequent in business/tech journalism and economic discourse.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- After the success of their blog, they decided to dot-com their hobby and sell crafts online.
American English
- They dot-commed their family business, moving the entire catalogue to a new website.
adverb
British English
- The firm operated almost entirely dot-com, with no physical storefront.
American English
- They decided to go dot-com, shutting down their expensive retail locations.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Amazon is a famous dot-com company.
- The dot-com bubble happened a long time ago.
- Many dot-com startups failed when the bubble burst in 2000.
- His first job was at a trendy dot-com in San Francisco.
- The legacy of the dot-com era is a mixed bag of revolutionary business models and spectacular investment failures.
- Analysts often draw parallels between the dot-com bust and subsequent tech investment cycles.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the literal DOT in '.com' and a COMpany. A 'dot-com' is a company defined by its internet address.
Conceptual Metaphor
THE INTERNET IS A PLACE OF COMMERCE (the '.com' suffix literally means 'commercial').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating literally as 'точка-ком'. The term is a loanword, often transliterated as 'дот-ком' or explained descriptively as 'интернет-компания'.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a generic term for any tech company (it's specifically internet-centric). Capitalising it incorrectly (usually lowercase unless starting a sentence or part of a proper name).
Practice
Quiz
What is the most accurate description of a 'dot-com' company?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
In formal writing, yes, the hyphenated form is standard (dot-com). However, in company names and informal use, 'dotcom' is also very common (e.g., 'Boo.com').
It's less accurate but sometimes used generically. The core definition implies a .com address, but the term has broadened to mean any pure-play internet business.
Yes, but primarily in a historical context (the 'dot-com era') or to distinguish an internet-native business model from a hybrid or traditional one.
All dot-coms are tech companies, but not all tech companies are dot-coms. A dot-com's core business and presence are internet-based. A tech company might make hardware or software not primarily for internet commerce.