Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

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.

That would be the dream for Health, like, “I brought my kid down here because their song is on a video game, and there’s a guy in a leather dog mask.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

A video game fanatic who travelled more than 1,000 miles for a football match achieved his "dream" of seeing his adopted club play in the flesh on Saturday.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Zampella, best known for co-creating the popular “Call of Duty” video game franchise and launching “Apex Legends” studio Respawn Entertainment, died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner’s database.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

This doctrine sounds like a made-up phrase created for a patriotic first-person-shooter video game.

From Slate • Apr. 22, 2026

He brags about his rating in some basketball video game to Zane-with-the-nose-ring.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

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.