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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Oliver announced his guest appearance on the June 28 episode of “Last Week Tonight,” the final episode before the show’s midsummer hiatus.
From Salon • Jun. 30, 2026
Hollywood actress Elisha Cuthbert is once again attempting to offload her luxurious Los Angeles pad for nearly $2.1 million—mere weeks after making a sudden return to acting following a yearslong hiatus from onscreen work.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
Actress Elisha Cuthbert is again trying to sell her luxurious L.A. pad for nearly $2.1 million— weeks after making a sudden return to acting following a long hiatus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Williams’ lengthy hiatus has left her unranked in singles, which could mean early matches against such players as defending champion Iga Swiatek or world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
She goes on to explain the origins of the pageant and how it went on hiatus during World War II and again when Kennedy was assassinated.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
