pause
Americannoun
-
pauses
plural
-
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
-
a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty; a momentary hesitation.
- Synonyms:
- lacuna, hiatus, halt, break, interruption, suspension
-
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
-
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.
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Prosody. a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.
-
Music. a fermata.
verb (used without object)
-
pauses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
paused,
past participle, past
-
pausing
present participle
idioms
verb
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to cease an action temporarily; stop
-
to hesitate; delay
she replied without pausing
noun
-
a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break
-
prosody another word for caesura
-
Also called: fermata. music a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length
-
to cause to hesitate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonpausenoun
-
pausernoun
-
pausingnoun
-
pausaladjective
-
pausefuladjective
-
pauselessadjective
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unpausingadjective
-
pausefullyadverb
-
pauselesslyadverb
-
pausinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pausesimple
-
pausessimple
-
have pausedperfect
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has pausedperfect
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am pausingprogressive
-
are pausingprogressive
-
is pausingprogressive
-
have been pausingperfect progressive
-
has been pausingperfect progressive
Past
-
pausedsimple
-
had pausedperfect
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was pausingprogressive
-
were pausingprogressive
-
had been pausingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
The noun pause means "a short break," like the pauses in television shows that allow for commercials to be shown. Pause can also be a verb that means "to stop for a short time." Teachers, for example, often pause after making an important point to check that students understand and to give them time to ask questions. Pause which rhymes with laws and cause, comes from the Greek word pausis, "stopping, ceasing," which comes from pauein "to stop, to cause to cease." Why don't you pause and think about that for a moment.
Vocabulary lists containing pause
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"Thank You, M'am"
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"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson
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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.
See Examples For:
The bill would also pause advanced AI development until guidelines are implemented while creating a Department of Artificial Intelligence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The rare pause in fighting, which began early Tuesday, enabled a humanitarian mission to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky and came as the Ukraine war grinds through its fifth year.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
After just nine games, it is a bit early to dig into the actual consequences of relegation for United, but the numbers might offer pause for thought.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
She said the Fed could pause after these moves and reassess the economic outlook.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
After an interminably long pause, he slid into the grave, landing on her foot.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Finley Kilgo pauses during a bike ride through the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, at the northern end of the Humboldt Bay Trail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Nobody pauses to determine whether everyone wants enough chips to justify them.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
When I put this to van Tulleken he pauses for breath.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Ms. Fox, a scholar of comparative literature, pauses to evoke what was about to be lost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The seat belt light goes on and the movie pauses while the captain warns us about turbulence ahead.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
At an execution site of local people during British colonial times, the king paused to reflect in a gesture meant to indicate his awareness of this past injustice.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The outflows ceased when we paused withdrawal service earlier. We are still working with partners to freeze many of the impacted assets, and have frozen around $3 billion thus far,” it said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Polymarket paused trading on its website Thursday after some users of the prediction-market’s platform said their accounts had been drained of funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
He recently made headlines for saying he would "find a way" to share his space with rare bats that have paused his renovation plans.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The guard had paused to unstrap a long military cape fastened to the shoulder of her uniform.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
In Guyana on Friday, he visited a site of execution of local people during British colonial rule, pausing to reflect in a gesture seen as indicating his awareness of that past injustice.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
It announced in January it was pausing flights to focus on it other business, including development of its larger New Glenn rocket for satellite and other missions, as well as a lunar lander.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
South Korea’s central bank held its policy rate steady as expected after two consecutive increases, pausing its tightening as inflation eased but remained above target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Managers can also insert a delay window by pausing communication on a project to allow employees to make decisions and solve problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Your scent just changed,” Teeth says, pausing mid-chew.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
