bullet time

noun

A visual effect in which the camera pans around a slowed-down object, such as a flying bullet.

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Meanings

nounbullet time (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebroadcastingA visual effect in which the camera pans around a slowed-down object, such as a flying bullet.

    ...particularly in the use of the bullet-time technique...

    2006, Dani Cavallaro, The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii: Fantasy, Technology and Politics
  2. uncountablevideo gamesA mode in which gameplay slows down to allow the player to observe and maneuver around bullets or other fast moving objects.

Origin

First used with reference to the 1999 film The Matrix, and later to the slow-motion effects in the 2001 video game Max Payne.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 子弹时间 子彈時間 /子弹时间
  • 子弹时间 子彈時間 /子弹时间 (zǐdànshíjiān)visual effect
French bullet time
  • bullet timevisual effect
Polish bullet time
  • bullet timevisual effect
Russian буллет-тайм
  • буллет-тайм (bullet-tajm)visual effect
Cite this entry
APA

bullet time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bullet%20time

MLA

“bullet time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bullet%20time. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bullet time,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bullet%20time.

Source: bullet time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.