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  • freeze frame
    freeze frame
    noun
    an optical effect or technique in which a single frame of film is reprinted in a continuous series, which when shown gives the effect of a still photograph.
  • freeze-frame
    freeze-frame
    noun
    films television a single frame of a film repeated to give an effect like a still photograph
Synonyms

freeze frame

American  
Or freeze-frame

noun

Television, Movies.
  1. an optical effect or technique in which a single frame of film is reprinted in a continuous series, which when shown gives the effect of a still photograph.

  2. a button or other mechanism on a projector, videocassette system, etc., allowing one to stop the projected picture at any point.


freeze-frame British  

noun

  1. films television a single frame of a film repeated to give an effect like a still photograph

  2. a single frame of a video recording viewed as a still by stopping the tape

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to make a freeze-frame of (an image)

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of freeze frame

First recorded in 1955–60


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.

See Examples For:

Hungarian-born Krausz, whose team generated the first ultra-fast pulses in the early 2000s, has likened attosecond physics to a fast-shutter camera where the short light flashes allow a freeze frame look within the microcosm.

From Reuters ● Oct. 3, 2023

But it’s important to be able to do that freeze frame, go back, understand what they’re telling you.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2022

The masterstroke might be the entrance hall specification, which throws Mishima’s freeze frame into sublime high-def.

From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2022

“If you freeze frame them, you’ll see there’s a line in their body from the center of their head to the point of contact of their blade on the ice,” Marco explained.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 25, 2022

They, like much of the nation, can easily summon their memories of Sept. 11, 2001, a collective freeze frame of the moment that seemed to transform everything.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

Elsewhere, she uses that same device of repetition to freeze-frame happy memories - representing a new way of thinking.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026

Even if you haven’t seen an episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in years, you can probably picture it via a single freeze-frame.

From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026

The fact that it costs $200 to $300 million to make a movie — do we want to freeze-frame this moment and keep it forever?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023

But if I were nominating “Camera on the wall of the Robb Elementary hallway” for the Photo of the Year award, I’d submit, instead, the freeze-frame on one officer at 12:30 p.m.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2022

Apparently I have the power to freeze-frame people midstep.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

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