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

Thanks to home video and cable TV, the film, not accounted as a success in its time, has become lodged in the childhood memories of several generations. — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026

Across its theatrical and home video releases, the sumptuous vampire drama would go on to gross over four times its $50 million to $60 million production budget. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026

The black-and-white clip filmed by fashion photographer Mert Alas has the feel of blissful home video shot at the coolest party you will never get invited to. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2026

When home video fell from its peak in the mid 2000s — more than $15 billion per year — the mid-budget drama or comedy or romcom lost its justification to exist, and everything since then moves movies to one of two ends of a budget barbell. — Daren Smith, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 2