pause

American  

[pawz] / pɔz /

noun

1. a temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action.

   a short pause after each stroke of the oar.

   Synonyms:

   lacuna, hiatus, halt, break, interruption, suspension

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

   Synonyms:

   lacuna, hiatus, halt, break, interruption, suspension

3. any comparatively brief stop, delay, wait, etc..

   I would like to make a pause in my talk and continue after lunch.

   Synonyms:

   lacuna, hiatus, halt, break, interruption, suspension

4. 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.

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

6. Music. a fermata.

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verb (used without object)

paused, pausing

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.

   Synonyms:

   rest

2. to dwell or linger (usually followed by on orupon ).

   to pause upon a particular point.

   Synonyms:

   delay, tarry

idioms

1. give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt.

   These frightening statistics give us pause.

pause British  

/ pɔːz /

verb

1. to cease an action temporarily; stop

2. to hesitate; delay

   she replied without pausing

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noun

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

2. prosody another word for caesura

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

4. to cause to hesitate

pause More Idioms  

1. see give pause.

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Other Word Forms

• nonpause noun
• pausal adjective
• pauseful adjective
• pausefully adverb
• pauseless adjective
• pauselessly adverb
• pauser noun
• pausing noun
• pausingly adverb
• unpausing adjective

Etymology

Origin of pause

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

Example Sentences

Production of the fifth season of the reality show, which follows a group of Utah influencers — dubbed MomTok — as they navigate marriage, friendship and religion, has been put on pause amid the investigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

But the latest pause comes after a sharp pullback from the mid-March highs.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

It plans to pause its share buyback program to give priority to deleveraging quickly after the deal and will resume it after making progress, the people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

A musician and teacher who asked to remain anonymous spoke of struggling to put his brain "on pause", instead spending evenings experimenting with AI.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

There’s a pause, and I hold my breath in the silence.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• breathing space
• halt
• hesitation
• hiatus
• hitch
• interlude
• intermission
• interruption
• interval
• lapse
• layoff
• letup
• lull
• recess
• respite
• stoppage
• suspension