jump-scare

Noun

jump scare (plural jump scares)

1. A sudden, unexpected and startling event in media designed to frighten the audience.
   • They'd do something horrible, maybe kill off a few protagonists, and then make people sit around waiting for the next terrible thing to come along. They called it “setting up a jump scare.”2011, Mira Grant, Deadline, Orbit, published 2011, →ISBN
2. (broadly, figuratively, humorous) The sudden arrival or advent of something unpleasant.
   • white woman jump scare
3. (figuratively) A fright caused by this.
   • The loud knock at the door gave me a terrible jump scare.

See all 4 meanings of jump scare