# Romeo

/ˈɹoʊmiˌoʊ/ (US) · /ɹˈəʊmɪˌəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/romeo
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. a romantic man

noun · CEFR B2

a man who is very romantic or who is a great lover.

For teachers: a man who is perceived as an ardent, devoted, or highly romantic lover.

- He thinks he is a real Romeo, always bringing her flowers and writing poems.
- The young man fancied himself a modern Romeo, though his grand romantic gestures often bordered on the theatrical.

### 2. a womanizer

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

a man who tries to make many different women fall in love with him.

For teachers: a man who habitually seduces women or has many brief romantic affairs.

- Watch out for him; he is a bit of a Romeo and never stays with one girl for long.
- Despite his charming exterior, he gained a reputation as a Romeo who left a trail of broken hearts across the city.

### 3. phonetic alphabet

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the word used for the letter 'R' when speaking over the radio.

For teachers: the code word representing the letter 'R' in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

- The pilot confirmed the coordinates: Alpha, Bravo, Romeo.
- To ensure clarity over the static-filled radio channel, the operator spelled out the name using Romeo for the final letter.

### 4. a seductive spy

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a male spy who uses romance to get secrets from someone.

For teachers: a male intelligence agent who specialises in seducing targets to extract information.

- The agency sent a Romeo to get close to the diplomat's assistant.
- During the Cold War, several intelligence services employed Romeos to infiltrate high-security circles through romantic entanglement.

## Examples

- He thinks he is a real Romeo with that new car.
- The office Romeo spent more time chatting with the interns than finishing his quarterly reports.
- While he cultivated the image of a tragic Romeo, his actual relationships were often short-lived and lacked the depth of the literary figure he sought to emulate.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.