voice-over

noun

ˈvȯis-ˌō-vər 

1

a

: the voice of an unseen narrator speaking (as in a movie, television show, or commercial)

b

: the voice of a visible character (as in a movie, television show, or video game) expressing especially unspoken thoughts

2

: a recording of a voice-over

Examples of voice-over in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There is voice-over used to info-dump about plot points that would otherwise be unclear, a lengthy montage that skims multiple days of the story, and an opening framing device that was clearly hastily crafted to try to justify why The Rats now comes after The Witcher season four, not before. —Scott Meslow, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025

With no narration or voice-over from the owner, the visual and audio pairing has been enough to leave viewers in hysterics. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025

Her early career involved voice-over work, musical theater and commercials. —Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025

And the hitmaking singer is channeling Sarah Jessica Parker’s two-series Manhattanite character in the first promo, complete with the familiar voice-over. —Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for voice-over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover

Kids Definition

voice-over

noun

ˈvȯi-ˌsō-vər

: the voice in a film or television program of a person who is heard but not seen or not seen actually talking