footage

noun

foot·​age ˈfu̇-tij 

1

: recorded video material

A camerawoman from Channel 12 shows up to grab some footage for the evening news.

—Bari Walsh

Video footage posted online shows him daring an audience member to fight …

—Latifah Muhammad

Ramsay uses security footage from inside and outside of the brownstone to detail Joe's actions.

—Kyle Turner

The documentary series that presents archival images and film footage in color continues, this week focusing on memorable events from the 1940s.

—Kristi Turnquist

2

: length or quantity expressed in feet: such as

a

: board feet

b

: the total number of running feet of motion-picture film used (as for a scene or subject)

The people of Hiroshima had a fund-raising campaign to purchase footage from films taken by American photographers … . They calculated they could purchase ten feet of footage for one thousand yen …

—Ruth Ann Keyso and Masahide Ota

Examples of footage in a Sentence

Some disturbing footage of the war was shown on the evening news.

Recent Examples on the Web

Video footage reviewed by The Charlotte Observer showed approximately 10 immigration officers surrounding a car attempting to leave the parking lot. — Diamy Wang july 13, Charlotte Observer, 14 July 2026

Aerial footage showed heavy damage to the suspect's vehicle, a dark gray sedan. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 14 July 2026

The groups also called for a full accounting of every agency and officer involved as well as the preservation of all body-camera footage, surveillance footage, and communications between the federal officials involved. — Luke Barr, ABC News, 13 July 2026

Surveillance footage obtained by The Associated Press appears to show the car carrying a 26-year-old Colombian man who was fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday as it’s being stopped in the streets of Biddeford, Maine. — Caroll Alvarado, CNN Money, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing footage

• stock footage

Kids Definition

footage

noun

foot·​age ˈfu̇-tij 

1

: length measured in feet

2

: scenes or action recorded on film or video