jump scare
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
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.
There’s a pause before a brief jump scare and a crash cut to static.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Later, when the film feels desperate to do something, the beast magically learns how to sneak inside and creep around in the darkness, a cheap jump scare it does twice in row.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2025
It’s important that the pervasive jump scare could happen to you.
From Slate • Jul. 22, 2024
It’s unsettling, almost feral, working like a jump scare more than a punchline.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2023
Instead of jump scare after jump scare, Saul’s novels aim to take readers on an eerie journey during which empathy is built for the characters, and evil and mystic ongoings don’t just happen without reason.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
