Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Of or relating to an internet company: Describes something that is characteristic of, or connected to, a business whose primary operations are based on the internet.
   • Characteristic of the internet business sector: Pertaining to the culture, practices, or economic model associated with internet-based companies, especially during the period of rapid growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

2. Noun:

   • A company that operates its business primarily on the internet using a URL that ends in .com: A business entity whose main commercial activities are conducted online and whose web address typically uses the .com top-level domain.
   • The period or culture of internet-based business growth: Often used to refer to the era of speculative investment in internet startups (the "dot-com boom") or the subsequent market decline (the "dot-com bust").

Examples

• Adjective:

  • The office had a very dot-com atmosphere, with ping-pong tables and free snacks.
  • He made his fortune during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.

• Noun:

  • Many dot-coms failed when the market bubble burst.
  • She works for a successful dot-com that sells handmade crafts.

Advanced Usage

• "dot-com boom": The period of rapid growth and extreme speculation in the value of internet-based companies, roughly from 1995 to 2000.

  • Many investors lost money after the dot-com boom ended.

• "dot-com bust" / "dot-com crash": The period following the boom, characterized by the collapse of many internet companies and a significant decline in stock market values.

  • The dot-com bust led to widespread layoffs in the tech sector.

• "dot-com millionaire": A person who became very wealthy, often quickly, through involvement with a successful internet startup.

  • The young dot-com millionaire retired before he was thirty.

Variants and Related Words

• Dot-commer (noun, informal): A person who works for or is involved with an internet company.
  • The conference was full of dot-commers looking for the next big idea.

Synonyms

• Internet company (noun): A business whose operations are based online.
• E-commerce company (noun): Specifically a company that buys and sells goods or services over the internet.
• Tech startup (noun): A newly established business in the technology sector, which may be a dot-com.

Related Phrases

• Brick-and-mortar (adjective): Describing a traditional business with a physical presence, as opposed to a dot-com.

  • Many brick-and-mortar stores now also have an online shop.

• New Economy (noun, historical): A term popular during the dot-com boom referring to the economic sector based on digital and information technology.

Adjective

1. of or relating to an internet company
   • a dot-com outfit in San Francisco

Noun

1. a company that operates its business primarily on the internet using a URL that ends in `.com'