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

Beyoncé showed a rare home video of her kids, including her only son, during the nearly three-hour show consisting of more than 35 songs. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 13 June 2025

In the home video, Selena and Gracie can be seen spending some quality time together by playing games on a hotel bed. —Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 12 June 2025

Pictures from the home video footage of Golden Retrievers Daisy and Maple. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

The crucial empowerment of home video was, and still is, ownership—taking the threat of unavailability out of the hands of film distributors, theatres, stores, and, now, streaming services. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 2