means A small video camera that streams or captures images through a computer, typically for live video calls, conferencing, or broadcasting over the internet.

from A straightforward 1990s portmanteau of 'web' (from World Wide Web) and 'camera,' born alongside the early internet. Fittingly, one of the first was pointed at a coffee pot in a Cambridge University lab so researchers could see whether the carafe was empty before walking over — the original webcam existed purely to spare people a wasted trip down the hall.