freeze frame

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

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

verb

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

Other Words From

• freeze-frame adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of freeze frame¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

The film opens with a shaky, grainy YouTube video of Chris and his friends blowing up a mailbox, his joyful, childlike face captured in freeze frame as he’s running away.

From Los Angeles Times

A freeze frame of a frozen-faced Biden — taken from his wretched debate performance — loomed from the big screen in the convention hall like a geriatric gargoyle.

From Los Angeles Times

He featured prominently in a pro-Trump political ad titled “Joe Biden’s middle finger,” which ended on a freeze frame of Boada making the gesture while leaving his initial arraignment.

From Seattle Times

The backdrop painted for the Mattel headquarters boardroom reveals a tweaked version of the L.A. skyline that you’d have to freeze frame to notice.

From Los Angeles Times

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