diapause

American  

[dahy-uh-pawz] / ˈdaɪ əˌpɔz /

noun

1. a period of hormonally controlled quiescence, especially in immature insects, characterized by cessation of growth and reduction of metabolic activity, often occurring seasonally or when environmental conditions are unfavorable.

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verb (used without object)

diapaused, diapausing

1. to undergo diapause.

diapause British  

/ ˈdaɪəˌpɔːz /

noun

1. a period of suspended development and growth accompanied by decreased metabolism in insects and some other animals. It is correlated with seasonal changes

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Etymology

Origin of diapause

1890–95; < Greek diápausis; see dia-, pause

Example Sentences

Like many insects, ladybirds enter a state of inactivity over winter known as diapause – an insect version of hibernation.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025

"We found that most of the genes that specialize for diapause in killifish are very ancient paralogs, which means that they were duplicated in the common ancestor of all vertebrates."

From Science Daily • May 28, 2024

They report May 30 in the journal Cell that although killifish evolved diapause less than 18 million years ago, they did so by co-opting ancient genes that originated more than 473 million years ago.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2024

But Dr. Lysiak said there is a phenomenon that could explain the first scenario: delayed implantation, also known as embryonic diapause.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2023

The embryos develop inside, and the immature insects rest for about 9 1/2 months in suspended development, or diapause.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2022