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• on-camera
  on-camera

  adjective

  within the range of a motion-picture or television camera; while being filmed or televised.
• on camera
  on camera

  Being filmed, as in When the talk-show host began, I wasn't sure if we were on camera. This usage dates from the first half of the 1900s, soon after the birth of motion-picture and television filming. The same is true of the antonym off camera, meaning “outside the view of a movie or TV camera,” as in Go ahead and scratch—we're off camera now.

on-camera

American  

[on-kam-er-uh, -kam-ruh, awn-] / ˈɒnˈkæm ər ə, -ˈkæm rə, ˈɔn- /

adjective

1. within the range of a motion-picture or television camera; while being filmed or televised.

   on-camera blunders; The assassination happened on-camera.

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on camera Idioms  

1. Being filmed, as in When the talk-show host began, I wasn't sure if we were on camera. This usage dates from the first half of the 1900s, soon after the birth of motion-picture and television filming. The same is true of the antonym off camera, meaning “outside the view of a movie or TV camera,” as in Go ahead and scratch—we're off camera now.

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Etymology

Origin of on-camera

First recorded in 1960–65

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on-camera on camera

He had a complex partial seizure while delivering an on-camera speech on the House floor last year, stopping midsentence before continuing to speak in a slow and halting voice for more than 30 seconds.

From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026

The House of Representatives Oversight Committee issued two subpoenas for Black to share NDAs and give an on-camera deposition under oath.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

In addition to studying race and gender demographics in the film industry, the report also examined on-camera representations of disability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

I offered to consult, but they soon convinced me to be the on-camera therapist working with recruited couples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

But that fear paled next to the deal the reporters had offered: a view of Mount St. Helens from the sky, in exchange for an on-camera interview.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

“It’s not a place of extremists but people were really inflamed,” Sosnoff says, noting that some people were reluctant to speak on camera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

It has introduced the use of covert cameras to catch unlicensed waste carriers in the act, and is also encouraging residents to submit evidence if they catch anything on camera.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

He was allegedly caught on camera "near" the conference room multiple times but was not authorized to participate in meetings located there.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Recruiting almost exclusively among the huge and jacked — it’s easier to appear larger-than-life on camera if you’re real-world large — makes the list of heart conditions start to pile up.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

He kept me on camera twenty minutes and he asked pointed questions that did not evade the issue.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

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