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Synonyms

footage

American  
[foot-ij] / ˈfʊt ɪdʒ /

noun

  1. length or extent in feet.

    the footage of lumber.

  2. a portion of raw video recorded for subsequent editing and use in one or more video clips or packages, broadcasts, or movies: raw footage that ended up on the cutting room floor.

    newsreel footage;

    raw footage that ended up on the cutting room floor.

  3. Mining.

    1. payment by the running foot of work done.

    2. the amount so paid.


footage British  
/ ˈfʊtɪdʒ /

noun

  1. a length or distance measured in feet

    1. the extent of film material shot and exposed

    2. the sequences of filmed material

    1. payment, by the linear foot of work done

    2. the amount paid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of footage

First recorded in 1890–95; foot + -age

Explanation

Footage is a section of film or video that's been shot or recorded. A TV news station might play dramatic footage of a tornado's aftermath. A film clip or a scene from a movie in production are both footage. Part of a film editor's job is combining all the best footage into a longer piece. Another kind of footage is a way to measure space — when you're selling a house, you'll need to advertise its size, or square footage. The film meaning dates from 1916, from foot as a unit of measurement, in this case of a length of film.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing footage

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Officers intervened on the A55 on Anglesey on Monday evening and temporarily closed the road, with footage on social media appearing to show a taxi being pulled over by police vehicles.

From BBC Aug. 25, 2026

"You see it move its eye," says the University of California, Irvine associate professor of physiology and biophysics, pointing to the footage.

From Science Daily Aug. 23, 2026

It also does not appear to have dawned on them that they are high-profile individuals, likely to attract attention, with footage finding its way to social media, as happened with Carse.

From BBC Aug. 23, 2026

It’s set in Los Angeles but the cafés and shops are obviously not local and the worst, most dated stock L.A. traffic footage can’t cover that up.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 21, 2026

They show cell-phone footage from this morning of every body in front of the building, chanting, "'You can’t stop me, nope, nope!'"

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

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