hiatus

American  

[hahy-ey-tuhs] / haɪˈeɪ təs /

noun

plural

hiatuses, hiatus

1. a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

2. a missing part; gap or lacuna.

   Scholars attempted to account for the hiatus in the medieval manuscript.

3. any gap or opening.

   Synonyms:

   space, interval, break

4. 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.

5. Anatomy. a natural fissure, cleft, or foramen in a bone or other structure.

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hiatus British  

/ haɪˈeɪtəs /

noun

1. (esp in manuscripts) a break or gap where something is missing

2. a break or interruption in continuity

3. a break between adjacent vowels in the pronunciation of a word

4. anatomy a natural opening or aperture; foramen

5. anatomy a less common word for vulva

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Other Word Forms

• hiatal adjective

Etymology

Origin of hiatus

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin hiātus “opening, gap,” equivalent to hiā(re) “to gape, open” + -tus, noun suffix

Example Sentences

Jordan says the hiatus led them to reflect for the first time on whether their lifelong ambition was truly what they wanted.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Air China restarted direct flights between Beijing and Pyongyang on Monday after a six-year hiatus, another sign isolated North Korea is gradually opening up following the resumption of train services between the capitals.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

BTS – comprising members RM, Jin, Saga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – took a collective hiatus in 2022 for each of them to participate in South Korean mandatory military service.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

SEOUL—After a nearly four-year hiatus, BTS, the K-pop phenomenon, has kicked off a comeback that will show the music industry how lucrative the era of superfans can be.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Bessie supplied the hiatus by a homily of an hour’s length, in which she proved beyond a doubt that I was the most wicked and abandoned child ever reared under a roof.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• interval
• lapse