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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said an internal investigation will be conducted and that the body-camera footage will be released to the public. Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 An Arkansas State Police trooper was captured on dashcam footage yanking the passenger of a vehicle by his hair and punching him in the face after a high-speed chase that ended in the streets of Blytheville. Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2026 By Thursday evening, more than 60 people had been taken by ICE in Danbury, according to CT Students for a Dream, which tracks arrests based on video footage submitted by rapid response teams. Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026 Galliano was fired by Christian Dior in 2011 after video footage surfaced showing the designer, who was inebriated, making antisemitic remarks in a Paris bar, La Perle. Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for footage

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of footage was in 1842

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Cite this Entry

“Footage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/footage. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

1
: length measured in feet
2
: scenes or action recorded on film or video
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