home video

noun

plural home videos

1

: a homemade video (see video entry 1 sense 1) that is not usually intended for commercial release or distribution

We showed our friends home videos of our vacation in the Caribbean.

People are consuming millions of hours of shaky, selfie-quality home video on their phones every day.

—Karen Bussone

… make a home video, using a cell phone or camera, of yourself performing your selection.

—The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, North Carolina)

2

: prerecorded video (see video entry 1 sense 1a) marketed for home viewing

The popular TV series … returns to home video with the DVD and Blu-ray releases of … Season Three.

—Mike Spring

It's not clear when other [streaming] platforms will add season four, but it usually takes several months for new seasons to receive a home video release …

—Business Insider US

Examples of home video in a Sentence

the latest releases in home video

We watched a home video of their wedding.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kino Lorber plans a theatrical release later this year followed by a digital, educational, and home video release. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026

Some, though, may grow attached to the idea of physical media, or could even come to see home video as a vital technology rather than a nostalgia object. — Sophia Nguyen, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

However, in the over 40 years since its release, the movie has found legions of fans, in part thanks to its release on home video, through TV broadcasts and, later, streaming services. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026

As a result, Wiseman, the rights holder of the film, never allowed it to be released on home video. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 2