Also called stop frame. the process of filming puppets and other objects one frame at a time while incrementally moving or modifying them, giving the illusion of lifelike motion when the captured film frames are viewed in rapid sequence (often used attributively): a stop-motion film.
stop-motion animation;
a stop-motion film.
Also called stop action. a special effect in cinematography, carried out while shooting, in which the performers stop their motion and the camera is stopped while an object or performer is added to or removed from the scene, with camera movement and action then resumed for the remainder of the scene: used to create an illusion of sudden appearance or disappearance of persons or objects (often used attributively).
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The breakup of a plate doesn't just stop motion -- it reshapes the planet.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2025
“I don’t think stop motion will ever be as big as cel or computers,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
Based on Elizabeth Beresford's books, the stop motion animation series ran for 60 episodes with Cribbins voicing all of the environmentally friendly characters.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2022
Later, on a stop motion stage, they would project that clean plate behind the stop-motion objects, taking pains to recreate the exact lighting of the original shoot, so all the elements would match.
From New York Times ● Jun. 28, 2022
Operating procedure when a storm hits is to stop motion and wait for the storm to pass.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
When one chase scene halts as the stop-motion pursuers squabble about their battle cry, the evident labor in the aside elbows us to run with the idea that movements sabotage themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
He makes his own stop-motion animations using Lego figures to help develop learning retention in high school civics classes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
“Corpse” and “Were-Rabbit” were the first stop-motion films to be nominated in the Oscars’ animated feature category, first awarded in 2002.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
From the same studio that created the “Wallace & Gromit,” “Shaun the Sheep” and “Chicken Run” films comes a different type of stop-motion animation that trades smooth plasticine for the warmer, more tactile needle felting.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
From her vantage point, she could see Matthew putting together another stop-motion video.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
