motion capture

noun

: a technology for digitally recording specific movements of a person (such as an actor) and translating them into computer-animated images

Examples of motion capture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The film is a mix of hand animation and some motion capture. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 Apr. 2026 And a pioneer in regard to motion capture or performance capture. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2026 Take motion capture technology, which enables a device to track a person’s movement. — Elena Bertozzi, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2026 Some rich interactions in physical interaction like force/touch and motion capture are hardest to capture at scale, leaving most large datasets dominated by vision alone. — Rushil Agarwal, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for motion capture

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of motion capture was in 1992

Rhymes for motion capture

See All Rhymes for motion capture

Browse Nearby Words

motion and time study
motion capture
motioner
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Motion capture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motion%20capture. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All