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
Chloe Mallea 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
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
Debra Yeo
Examples of freeze-frame in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The first end credits scene gives a big nod to the end credits of the Police Squad! series, which mocked freeze-frame endings of sitcoms at the time.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
In the early ’90s prehistoric age before the internet lived up to the promise of a worldwide web, and before the dawn of social media, Simpsons obsessives freeze-framed their VCRs to spot inside jokes in background scenes.
—Keith Murphy, Time, 24 July 2025
The Barracuda goes over the edge, and there’s a Thelma & Louise-style freeze-frame implying that hero and villain are about to plummet to their deaths.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 12 July 2025
But what lingers is the quiet emptiness that comes after the final freeze-frame, after the song ends and the curtain falls.
—arkansasonline.com, 10 July 2025
This slow zoom in on the freeze-frame reminded me of ’70s movies a little bit.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Mar. 2025
Literature that doesn’t contain its own version of this deal—literature that tries to freeze-frame reality instead of transmuting it—is often boring, even alienating.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2025
Isla delivers much of this information in the pilot via a sunny voiceover, punctuated by freeze-frame introductions of characters featuring their name and job title scrawled on the screen in meticulously messy yellow text.
—EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
And the final shot — a freeze-frame of Nancy turning herself in, as her family left her behind — was profound enough to mark the show's conclusion.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
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Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
In the early ’90s prehistoric age before the internet lived up to the promise of a worldwide web, and before the dawn of social media, Simpsons obsessives freeze-framed their VCRs to spot inside jokes in background scenes.
—Keith Murphy, Time, 24 July 2025
The Barracuda goes over the edge, and there’s a Thelma & Louise-style freeze-frame implying that hero and villain are about to plummet to their deaths.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 12 July 2025
But what lingers is the quiet emptiness that comes after the final freeze-frame, after the song ends and the curtain falls.
—arkansasonline.com, 10 July 2025
This slow zoom in on the freeze-frame reminded me of ’70s movies a little bit.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Mar. 2025
Literature that doesn’t contain its own version of this deal—literature that tries to freeze-frame reality instead of transmuting it—is often boring, even alienating.
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2025
Isla delivers much of this information in the pilot via a sunny voiceover, punctuated by freeze-frame introductions of characters featuring their name and job title scrawled on the screen in meticulously messy yellow text.
—EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
And the final shot — a freeze-frame of Nancy turning herself in, as her family left her behind — was profound enough to mark the show's conclusion.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Freeze-frame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeze-frame. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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