footage
Americannoun
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length or extent in feet.
the footage of lumber.
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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.
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Mining.
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payment by the running foot of work done.
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the amount so paid.
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noun
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a length or distance measured in feet
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the extent of film material shot and exposed
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the sequences of filmed material
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payment, by the linear foot of work done
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the amount paid
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of footage
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.
Vocabulary lists containing footage
Lessons 2–3
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Lessons 4–5
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Lessons 1–2
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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.
The New York Police Department faced more criticism after video footage began circulating Thursday night showing officers knocking anti-ICE demonstrators to the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Nicknamed Novita, the ape shown in footage released by a conservation group is among dozens that have been rescued from wildfires burning across parts of Sumatra and Borneo in recent months.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The footage was later ridiculed on Have I Got News for You, ensuring it reached an even wider audience.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Also, two-time major golf champion Bryson DeChambeau said that while it’s likely that moon landings have happened, some of the footage we’ve been shown might have been fake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Then the news story cut to a section of old footage.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
