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• slow motion
  slow motion

  noun

  the process or technique of filming or taping a motion-picture or television sequence at an accelerated rate of speed and then projecting or replaying it at normal speed so that the action appears to be slowed down.
• slow-motion
  slow-motion

  adjective

  of, pertaining to or made in slow motion.

slow motion

¹ American  

noun

1. the process or technique of filming or taping a motion-picture or television sequence at an accelerated rate of speed and then projecting or replaying it at normal speed so that the action appears to be slowed down.

2. the effect thus created.

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slow-motion ² American  

[sloh-moh-shuhn] / ˈsloʊˈmoʊ ʃən /

adjective

1. of, pertaining to or made in slow motion.

   a slow-motion replay.

2. moving or proceeding at a strikingly slow rate.

   slow-motion progress toward a settlement.

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slow motion British  

noun

1. films television action that is made to appear slower than normal by passing the film through the taking camera at a faster rate than normal or by replaying a video tape recording more slowly

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adjective

1. films television of or relating to such action

2. moving or functioning at less than usual speed

Etymology

Origin of slow motion¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Origin of slow-motion²

First recorded in 1925–30

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slow motion slow-motion

Ms. Browne’s original account of that period proceeded accordingly, as if in slow motion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

In slow motion, transition back to center and repeat on the other side.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

But to show a live-action dancer partnering an animated figure in an entirely painted landscape as autumn leaves swirl in slow motion around them was another feat altogether.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"I feel like my brain is working in slow motion, I tend to become clumsy and way more forgetful," she says.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

We looked and saw the body come up through the water, rolling over and over in a slow motion, reflecting the sunlight.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Tipping points can happen suddenly, or as a slow-motion capitulation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Occasionally, “Your Mother” indulges in genre clichés, such as gratuitous slow-motion and solemn pronouncements about the warrior’s code.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Moderating pay increases are another reminder of the slow-motion cost crunch that both businesses and workers are facing at the moment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

The president also took aim at FIFA’s use of slow-motion replay to decide whether Balogun’s stepping on an opponent’s ankle constituted a red-card offense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

It hesitated for a moment, wobbling there on the edge of oblivion, and then pitched decisively forward and fell, tumbling end over end in beautiful balletic slow-motion.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

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