webcam

American

[web-kam] / ˈwɛbˌkæm /

Or Webcam

noun

a digital camera whose images are transmitted, often in real time, over the World Wide Web.

webcam British

/ ˈwɛbˌkæm /

noun

a camera that transmits still or moving images over the internet

"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 webcam

First recorded in 1990–95; (World Wide) Web + cam(era)

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.

Gizmo is wowing fans of the live webcam that monitors the Big Bear family of eagles that includes mom Jackie, dad Shadow and sibling Sunny.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2026

One person “hooked up a webcam to it and was, like, watching their tomato plants grow,” said Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

He says he'll be live for 12 hours of the livestream as he no longer has the energy for longer marathon sessions in front of the webcam.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025

Jackie and Shadow and their lake-view aerie are the subjects of a 24-hour online webcam that has been monitoring the couple since 2018, when Shadow replaced Jackie’s previous mate.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2025

We spend the next hour in front of the webcam trying to record ourselves singing an Avril Lavigne song Rabiya picked out.

From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023