pause

[ pawz ]
See synonyms for: pausepausedpausing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action: a short pause after each stroke of the oar.

  2. a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty; a momentary hesitation.

  1. any comparatively brief stop, delay, wait, etc.: I would like to make a pause in my talk and continue after lunch.

  2. a break or rest in speaking or reading to emphasize meaning, grammatical relation, metrical division, etc., or in writing or printing by the use of punctuation.

  3. Prosody. a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.

  4. Music. a fermata.

verb (used without object),paused, paus·ing.
  1. to make a brief stop or delay; wait; hesitate: He paused at the edge of the pool for a moment. I'll pause in my lecture so we can all get some coffee.

  2. to dwell or linger (usually followed by on or upon): to pause upon a particular point.

Idioms about pause

  1. give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt: These frightening statistics give us pause.

Origin of pause

1
First recorded in 1400–50; (for the noun) Middle English, from Latin pausa, from Greek paûsis “a halt,” from paú(ein) “to stop” + -sis -sis; verb derivative of the noun

Other words for pause

Other words from pause

  • pausal, adjective
  • pauseful, adjective
  • pause·ful·ly, adverb
  • pauseless, adjective
  • pause·less·ly, adverb
  • pauser, noun
  • paus·ing·ly, adverb
  • non·pause, noun
  • un·paus·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with pause

Words Nearby pause

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pause in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pause

pause

/ (pɔːz) /


verb(intr)
  1. to cease an action temporarily; stop

  2. to hesitate; delay: she replied without pausing

noun
  1. a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break

  2. prosody another word for caesura

  1. Also called: fermata music a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length: Usual symbol:

  2. give pause to to cause to hesitate

Origin of pause

1
C15: from Latin pausa pause, from Greek pausis, from pauein to halt

Derived forms of pause

  • pausal, adjective
  • pauser, noun
  • pausing, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with pause

pause

see give pause.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.