freeze-frame

noun

plural freeze-frames
1
a
: a frame of a motion-picture film that is repeated so as to give the illusion of a static picture
b
: a static picture produced from a video recording
On one of the desktop monitors is a freeze-frame from Little Women, Gerwig's new film …Chloe Malle
a freeze-frame image
2
: something resembling a freeze-frame (as in reflecting or preserving a particular moment in time)
We should acknowledge that these pandemic curves are only freeze-frames of a situation still very much in flux …Francesca Melandri
freeze-frame transitive verb
freeze-framed; freeze-framing; freeze-frames
… I freeze-framed a scene in the promo for Monday's show and compared it to online photos of the hotel … Debra Yeo

Examples of freeze-frame in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The app takes a photo, but think of it as a freeze-frame. Jim Rossman, Dallas News, 30 May 2023 Sharpe himself had long lamented the depiction of pinball in the mainstream media — not just the freeze-frame inaccuracies only a true pinhead would notice, but the undeserved snark dismissing the game either as a vice for Fonzie-like greasers or as an esoteric outlet for Tommy-like obsessives. Adam Ruben, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2023 As the Fashion Weeks continued, this idea continually reemerged: In London, at Erdem’s show, a tribute to the mindful labors of art and antique garment restorers; in Milan, where Matthieu Blazy’s precise asymmetries and windswept gestures at Bottega Veneta read like freeze-frames of life in motion. Maya Singer, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'freeze-frame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of freeze-frame was in 1948

Dictionary Entries Near freeze-frame

Cite this Entry

“Freeze-frame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeze-frame. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.

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