The term ".com" primarily refers to a top-level domain (TLD) in internet addresses (URLs), originally short for "commercial." It was introduced in 1985 as one of the first TLDs to categorize websites intended for commercial entities, such as businesses

. However, over time, the use of .com has expanded beyond commercial sites and is now the most popular and widely used domain suffix for all types of websites, including personal, educational, and non-profit sites, due to its high recognition and credibility

. In a URL, ".com" is part of the domain name that helps identify the website's address on the internet. The domain name system (DNS) manages this naming, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) overseeing domain assignments

. Besides its use in domain names, "COM" can also mean:

• A communication port (COM port) on a computer, referring to serial port interfaces

• "Common" in electrical terminology, often used to label terminals on switches

• The Component Object Model, a Microsoft software architecture standard for creating and managing software components in Windows environments

In summary, ".com" most commonly denotes a commercial-oriented internet domain but has broader meanings in technology and computing contexts.