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video game

American  
[vid-ee-oh-geym] / ˈvɪd i oʊˌgeɪm /
Or videogame

noun

Digital Technology.

  1. any of various interactive games played using a specialized electronic gaming device or a computer or mobile device and a television or other display screen, along with a means to control graphic images.

  2. any of various games played using a microchip-controlled device, as an arcade machine or handheld toy.

video game British  

noun

  1. any of various games that can be played by using an electronic control to move points of light or graphical symbols on the screen of a visual display unit

"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

Etymology

Origin of video game

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

Fleabag writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is behind the script for the show, based on the hit video game series first released in 1996.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, Wayne, an engineer at the Atari video game company, was in charge of hardware engineering and documentation in the fledgling business.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Any war in which any party involved possesses nuclear weapons multiples this risk — yet we hardly talk about that risk, except in the context of a popular video game series turned Prime Video show.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

One species, Lepidepecreum myla, was named for a video game character, with the author noting that both 'are just little arthropods trying to survive in total darkness.'

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026

“That’s okay. I’m meeting Akimi and Miguel upstairs in the Electronic Learning Center. Mr. Lemoncello just installed a new educational video game: Charlemagne’s Chivalry. I think it’s about the Knights of the Round Table.”

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

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.