What does videotaped mean?
Videotaped means that something was recorded on magnetic video tape. As an adjective, it describes a recorded event, statement, interview, or other material, as in “a videotaped deposition.” As a verb, it is the past tense and past participle of videotape, describing the act of making such a recording. The word is neutral but can sound dated because digital cameras and streaming have largely replaced tape-based recording. Nevertheless, it remains useful for archival material, legal records, news footage, and documents whose recording medium matters. Saying that footage is “videotaped” emphasizes that it was captured on video tape rather than merely broadcast or transmitted electronically. In comparison with “live,” the term also suggests that a recording was preserved for later viewing. Although modern viewers may rarely encounter the medium itself, the expression still clearly identifies the historical and technical character of a recording.
Recorded or preserved on video tape.
"The broadcaster declined to air the videotaped interview."
Common in legal, historical, journalistic, and documentary contexts; it may also function attributively, as in “videotaped evidence.”
To record something on video tape; the past tense and past participle of videotape.
"Police officers videotaped the disturbance outside the venue."
The simple past and past participle have the same form, as in “the event was videotaped.”
Before streaming and solid-state memory, “videotaped” meant that a moment had been saved on magnetic tape.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of videotaped
The English combining form video was coined in the 1950s from Latin videre, “to see,” and was initially associated with television. It was subsequently joined to tape to form videotape, a medium for recording moving images. The English form videotaped developed naturally as the past tense and participle of the verb videotape.
Related word forms
How videotaped is actually used
The term is neutral in tone but can sound dated or archival because tape-based recording has largely been replaced by digital media. It remains especially common in legal, historical, journalistic, and documentary contexts where the recording medium is significant.