Stop-Motion

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

stop′ mo′tion, [Motion Pictures.]

1. Cinema Also called stop-action photography, stop′-motion cinematog′raphy. a special effect, 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.
2. Cinema See freeze frame (def. 1).

stop′-mo′tion, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stop-motion noun

1. a technique used in animation and photography in which a subject is filmed then adjusted a frame at a time
2. (as modifier): stop-motion animation