Noun
stopping time (plural stopping times)
(mathematics) A random variable representing the time required for a stochastic process to satisfy a certain condition, which must be determined using only information available up to such time and must occur almost surely in finite time.
Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let's not forget this. Dave Eggers
A novel wouldn't be a book if there weren't some flights of fancy on the part of the author, stopping time to examine things, or to tell a joke. Ned Vizzini