video

The word “video” means recorded moving pictures, with or without sound, that can be played back on a screen. In plain terms, a recording you can watch — or the act of making one.

“Video” is pronounced VIHD-ee-oh (/ˈvɪd.i.oʊ/ in IPA).

Here is “video” used in a sentence: “She posted a video of the concert online.”

Depending on how it is used, “video” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “video” comes from Latin. From the Latin verb videre ("to see"), with the ending "-o" added by analogy with "audio" — video is literally "I see" in Latin.

“Video” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Video” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: recorded moving pictures, with or without sound, that can be played back on a screen.

The words overlap, but "film" often means a longer, professionally made work shown in cinemas, historically shot on film stock. "Video" is broader and more everyday: any recorded moving pictures, from a short phone clip to an online tutorial. All films can be watched as video, but most videos are not films.

Audio is sound alone, such as music, speech, or a podcast, with nothing to watch. Video is moving pictures, usually with sound but sometimes silent. In short, audio is what you hear, and video is what you see and hear together. A phone call is audio; a video call adds the picture.

Video comes in many forms, grouped by purpose: home videos, music videos, tutorials, vlogs, adverts, live streams, and short-form clips made for social media. It is also described by quality and format, such as high definition (HD), 4K, and slow motion. The common thread is recorded moving pictures played on a screen.

A clip filmed on a phone at a birthday party is video. So is a film streamed on television, a tutorial watched online, a music video, or footage from a security camera. Any recorded moving picture you can play back on a screen counts as video.