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

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.

Example Sentences

It’s an audible version of the dramatic pause that is wielded to such versatile effect by Anton Chekhov, Harold Pinter and Annie Baker.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

Some developers are so wary about the hiring delay that they are pushing pause on submitting proposals to the EDC, a person familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

And it isn’t just SpaceX, but also Anthropic and OpenAI and the unceasing chatter and licking of chops over the mind-bending explosion of intergenerational wealth anticipated by their pending IPOs, that gives me pause.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

The company’s long-term 10% annual sales growth target is on pause, with 2026 sales estimates lowered by 0.2%.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

In the pause that followed, Duane realized that he didn’t see at all.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

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