diff --git a/docs/guides/hooks.md b/docs/guides/hooks.md
index f53ecb63b2..23ce9f9b20 100644
--- a/docs/guides/hooks.md
+++ b/docs/guides/hooks.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Hooks
 
-Hooks exist so that users can "hook" on to certain Video.js player lifecycle
+Hooks exist so that users can globally hook into certain Video.js lifecycle moments.
 
 ## Table of Contents
 
@@ -18,129 +18,153 @@ Currently, the following hooks are available:
 
 ### beforesetup
 
-`beforesetup` is called just before the player is created. This allows:
+`beforesetup` occurs just before a player is created. This allows:
 
-* modification of the options passed to the Video.js function (`videojs('some-id, options)`)
-* modification of the dom video element that will be used for the player
+* Modification of the options passed to the Video.js function (e.g., `videojs('some-id, options)`).
+* Modification of the DOM video element that will be used for the player that will be created.
 
 `beforesetup` hook functions should:
 
-* take two arguments
-  1. videoEl: dom video element that Video.js is going to use to create a player
-  1. options: options that Video.js was intialized with and will later pass to the player during creation
-* return options that will merge and override options that Video.js with intialized with
+* Take two arguments:
+  1. `videoEl`: DOM `<video>` element that Video.js is going to use to create a player.
+  1. `options`: The options object that Video.js was called with and will be passed to the player during creation.
+* Return an options object that will be merged with the originally provided options.
 
-Example: adding beforesetup hook
+#### Example
 
 ```js
-var beforeSetup = function(videoEl, options) {
-  // videoEl.id will be some-id here, since that is what Video.js
-  // was created with
+videojs.hook('beforesetup', function(videoEl, options) {
+
+  // videoEl will be the video element with id="some-id" since that
+  // gets passed to videojs() below. On subsequent calls, it will be
+  // different.
 
   videoEl.className += ' some-super-class';
 
-  // autoplay will be true here, since we passed in as such
-  (options.autoplay) {
+  // autoplay will be true here, since we passed it as such.
+  if (options.autoplay) {
     options.autoplay = false
   }
 
-  // options that are returned here will be merged with old options
-  // in this example options will now be
-  // {autoplay: false, controls: true}
+  // Options that are returned here will be merged with old options.
+  //
+  // In this example options will now be:
+  //   {autoplay: false, controls: true}
+  //
+  // This has the practical effect of always disabling autoplay no matter
+  // what options are passed to videojs().
   return options;
-};
+});
 
-videojs.hook('beforesetup', beforeSetup);
+// Create a new player.
 videojs('some-id', {autoplay: true, controls: true});
 ```
 
 ### setup
 
-`setup` is called just after the player is created. This allows:
+`setup` occurs just after a player is created. This allows:
 
-* plugin or custom functionality to intialize on the player
-* changes to the player object itself
+* Plugins or other custom functionality to initialize on the player.
+* Changes to the player object itself.
 
 `setup` hook functions:
 
-* Take one argument
-  * player: the player that Video.js created
+* Take one argument:
+  1. `player`: the player that Video.js created
 * Don't have to return anything
 
-Example: adding a setup hook
+#### Example
 
 ```js
-    var setup = function(player) {
-        // initialize the foo plugin
-        player.foo();
-    };
-    var foo = function() {};
-
-    videojs.registerPlugin('foo', foo);
-    videojs.hook('setup', setup);
-    var player = videojs('some-id', {autoplay: true, controls: true});
+videojs.registerPlugin('foo', function() {
+
+  // This basic plugin will add the "some-super-class" class to a player.
+  this.addClass('some-super-class');
+});
+
+videojs.hook('setup', function(player) {
+
+  // Initialize the foo plugin after any player is created.
+  player.foo();
+});
+
+// Create a new player.
+videojs('some-id', {autoplay: true, controls: true});
 ```
 
 ## Usage
 
 ### Adding
 
-In order to use hooks you must first include Video.js in the page or script that you are using. Then you add hooks using `videojs.hook(<name>, function)` before running the `videojs()` function.
+Hooks can be added using `videojs.hook(<name>, function)` before running the `videojs()` function.
 
-Example: adding hooks
+#### Example
 
 ```js
 videojs.hook('beforesetup', function(videoEl, options) {
-  // videoEl will be the element with id=vid1
-  // options will contain {autoplay: false}
+  // This hook will be called twice. Once for "vid1" and once for "vid2".
+  // The options will match what is passed to videojs() for each of them.
 });
+
 videojs.hook('setup', function(player) {
-  // player will be the same player that is defined below
-  // as `var player`
+  // This hook will be called twice. Once for "vid1" and once for "vid2".
+  // The player value will be the player that is created for each element.
 });
 
-var player = videojs('vid1', {autoplay: false});
+videojs('vid1', {autoplay: false});
+videojs('vid2', {autoplay: true});
 ```
 
-After adding your hooks they will automatically be run at the correct time in the Video.js lifecycle.
+After adding your hooks, they will automatically be run at the correct time in the Video.js lifecycle.
 
-### Getting
+### Adding Once
 
-To access the array of hooks that currently exists and will be run on the Video.js object you can use the `videojs.hooks` function.
+In some cases, you may only want your hook to run once. In these cases, use `videojs.hookOnce(<name>, function)` before running the `videojs()` function.
 
-Example: getting all hooks attached to Video.js
+#### Example
 
 ```js
-var beforeSetupHooks = videojs.hooks('beforesetup');
-var setupHooks = videojs.hooks('setup');
+videojs.hookOnce('beforesetup', function(videoEl, options) {
+  // This hook will be called once for "vid1", but not for "vid2".
+  // The options will match what is passed to videojs().
+});
+
+videojs.hookOnce('setup', function(player) {
+  // This hook will be called once for "vid1", but not for "vid2".
+  // The player value will be the player that is created for each element.
+});
+
+videojs('vid1', {autoplay: false});
+videojs('vid2', {autoplay: true});
 ```
 
-### Removing
+### Getting
 
-To stop hooks from being executed during the Video.js lifecycle you will remove them using `videojs.removeHook`.
+To access the array of functions that currently exists for any hook, use the `videojs.hooks` function.
 
-Example: remove a hook that was defined by you
+#### Example
 
 ```js
-var beforeSetup = function(videoEl, options) {};
 
-// add the hook
-videojs.hook('beforesetup', beforeSetup);
+// Get an array of all the 'beforesetup' hooks.
+var beforeSetupHooks = videojs.hooks('beforesetup');
 
-// remove that same hook
-videojs.removeHook('beforesetup', beforeSetup);
+// Get an array of all the 'setup' hooks.
+var setupHooks = videojs.hooks('setup');
 ```
 
-You can also use `videojs.hooks` in conjunction with `videojs.removeHook` but it may have unexpected results if used during an asynchronous callbacks as other plugins/functionality may have added hooks.
+### Removing
+
+To stop hooks from being executed during any future Video.js lifecycles you can remove them using `videojs.removeHook`.
 
-Example: using `videojs.hooks` and `videojs.removeHook` to remove a hook
+#### Example
 
 ```js
-// add the hook
-videojs.hook('setup', function(videoEl, options) {});
+var beforeSetup = function(videoEl, options) {};
 
-var setupHooks = videojs.hooks('setup');
+// Add the hook.
+videojs.hook('beforesetup', beforeSetup);
 
-// remove the hook you just added
-videojs.removeHook('setup', setupHooks[setupHooks.length - 1]);
+// Remove the same hook.
+videojs.removeHook('beforesetup', beforeSetup);
 ```
diff --git a/src/js/video.js b/src/js/video.js
index 5507895a6f..23526703f2 100644
--- a/src/js/video.js
+++ b/src/js/video.js
@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@ videojs.hooks_ = {};
  * @param {string} type
  *        the lifecyle to get hooks from
  *
- * @param {Function} [fn]
- *        Optionally add a hook to the lifecycle that your are getting.
+ * @param {Function|Function[]} [fn]
+ *        Optionally add a hook (or hooks) to the lifecycle that your are getting.
  *
  * @return {Array}
  *         an array of hooks, or an empty array if there are none.
@@ -167,6 +167,26 @@ videojs.hook = function(type, fn) {
   videojs.hooks(type, fn);
 };
 
+/**
+ * Add a function hook that will only run once to a specific videojs lifecycle.
+ *
+ * @param {string} type
+ *        the lifecycle to hook the function to.
+ *
+ * @param {Function|Function[]}
+ *        The function or array of functions to attach.
+ */
+videojs.hookOnce = function(type, fn) {
+  videojs.hooks(type, [].concat(fn).map(original => {
+    const wrapper = (...args) => {
+      videojs.removeHook(type, wrapper);
+      original(...args);
+    };
+
+    return wrapper;
+  }));
+};
+
 /**
  * Remove a hook from a specific videojs lifecycle.
  *
diff --git a/test/unit/videojs-hooks.test.js b/test/unit/videojs-hooks.test.js
index ba6ab8803b..f982fa0f96 100644
--- a/test/unit/videojs-hooks.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/videojs-hooks.test.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /* eslint-env qunit */
 import videojs from '../../src/js/video.js';
 import document from 'global/document';
+import sinon from 'sinon';
 import log from '../../src/js/utils/log.js';
 
 QUnit.module('video.js:hooks ', {
@@ -23,9 +24,7 @@ QUnit.test('should be able to add a hook', function(assert) {
   assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.bar.length, 2, 'should have 2 bar hooks');
   assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.foo.length, 1, 'should have 1 foo hook');
 
-  videojs.hook('foo', function() {});
-  videojs.hook('foo', function() {});
-  videojs.hook('foo', function() {});
+  videojs.hook('foo', [function() {}, function() {}, function() {}]);
   assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.foo.length, 4, 'should have 4 foo hooks');
   assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.bar.length, 2, 'should have 2 bar hooks');
 });
@@ -104,6 +103,26 @@ QUnit.test('should be get all hooks for a type and add at the same time', functi
   assert.deepEqual(videojs.hooks_.bar, barHooks, 'should return the exact bar list from videojs.hooks_');
 });
 
+QUnit.test('should be able to add a hook that runs once', function(assert) {
+  const spies = [
+    sinon.spy(),
+    sinon.spy(),
+    sinon.spy()
+  ];
+
+  videojs.hookOnce('foo', spies);
+
+  assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.foo.length, 3, 'should have 3 foo hooks');
+
+  videojs.hooks('foo').forEach(fn => fn());
+
+  spies.forEach((spy, i) => {
+    assert.ok(spy.calledOnce, `spy #${i + 1} was called`);
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(videojs.hooks_.foo.length, 0, 'should have 0 foo hooks');
+});
+
 QUnit.test('should trigger beforesetup and setup during videojs setup', function(assert) {
   const vjsOptions = {techOrder: ['techFaker']};
   let setupCalled = false;