hiatus
Americannoun
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a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.
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a missing part; gap or lacuna.
Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript.
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any gap or opening.
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Grammar, Prosody. the coming together, with or without break or slight pause, and without contraction, of two vowels in successive words or syllables, as in see easily.
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Anatomy. a natural fissure, cleft, or foramen in a bone or other structure.
noun
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(esp in manuscripts) a break or gap where something is missing
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a break or interruption in continuity
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a break between adjacent vowels in the pronunciation of a word
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anatomy a natural opening or aperture; foramen
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anatomy a less common word for vulva
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hiatus
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin hiātus “opening, gap,” equivalent to hiā(re) “to gape, open” + -tus, noun suffix
Explanation
A temporary gap, pause, break, or absence can be called a hiatus. When your favorite TV show is on hiatus, that means there are no new episodes — not forever, just for a little while. Even things that go on for a long time take a break once in a while: one kind of break is a hiatus. If someone has to leave her job for a time, she's going on hiatus. A touring band will need to take a hiatus if the lead singer gets in an accident. The key thing about a hiatus is that it's an interruption of something that was happening, but it's not a permanent break.
Vocabulary lists containing hiatus
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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The Book Thief
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Grade 11, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bridgers last played in L.A. as part of a secret show at all-ages venue the Smell in February 2024, where Boygenius announced its hiatus.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Oasis took a 16-year hiatus after Liam Gallagher threw a plum at his brother Noel.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
But an earlier House report shows Moolenaar paying just $600 per month in 2023, suggesting that Suozzi, his roommate, paid a similar rate prior to his hiatus.
From Salon • May 29, 2026
When he took his hiatus, he was living in a loft on Grand Street in New York City with Lucille Pearson, whom he would marry in 1965.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
The political campaign, of course, lost all other issues, and resembled a campaign only in that it was something filling the hiatus between nomination and election.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
