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
The stop motion animation had been filmed in Mr Firmin's barn in Blean, just outside Canterbury, Kent.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024
That appreciation for the craft of stop motion, inevitably susceptible to human excellence and error, propelled Gustafson throughout his career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
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
Katie: The stop-motion animators I spoke to are unsurprisingly rather thrilled, although they’re conscious that their brethren at 2D and CGI studios are really struggling with the onset of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
“The whole last year, we’ve been nonstop booked,” said Shel Rasch, co-founder of Oregon-based stop-motion studio Stunt Puppet Pictures, which recently helped create a claymation ad for Apple’s Mac Mini.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The handcrafted stop-motion film runs just over two hours and more than a thousand people worked on it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Made by the stop-motion animation studio behind 2009 hit "Coraline," "Wildwood" follows a young girl who must venture into an enchanted forest after her brother is whisked away by crows.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
The strobing light from the storm made it look like it was in a stop-motion video, but a small sailboat was definitely coming down the street-turned-river toward the Evanses’ house.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
