pause
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Prosody. a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.
-
Music. a fermata.
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb
-
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
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pausingnoun
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pausaladjective
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pausefuladjective
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pauselessadjective
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unpausingadjective
-
pausefullyadverb
-
pauselesslyadverb
-
pausinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pausesimple
-
pausessimple
-
have pausedperfect
-
has pausedperfect
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am pausingprogressive
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are pausingprogressive
-
is pausingprogressive
-
have been pausingperfect progressive
-
has been pausingperfect progressive
Past
-
pausedsimple
-
had pausedperfect
-
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
The Best Starting Words for Wordle
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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:
In some cases, it has pushed developers to pause or walk away from projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
De Beers announced Monday it will pause production at South Africa's largest diamond mine for two years to reduce costs while trading conditions remained tough.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
After a pause, he added, “When one side rejects you, you look south, the land of your ancestors, to look for acceptance.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
They also need to be able to pause their work when an emergency arises, like a hospitalization or a paid caregiver not showing up.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The memory of this caused her to pause for a moment.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
As the schedule pauses this week for the annual All-Star break, the Dodgers have the best record in the sport at 61-36.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
He pauses before concluding: "The rest of the world may have a completely different opinion to the US box office figure, which I'm pretty certain will be the case actually."
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Running roughly 35 minutes and divided into eight movements, mostly without pauses between them, “Lincoln” incorporates texts from several sources written and sometimes spoken by our 16th president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Amid the hum of Woodcat Coffee in Echo Park, Azniv Korkejian pauses in front of a wall of family photographs mounted on faded construction paper and tucked into repurposed frames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The gurgling began to surface, growing louder and deeper, with fewer pauses in between.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Last week, Meta paused a new AI tool to generate images based on public Instagram accounts after users complained that people’s likeness could be used without their consent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
In some recent quarters, stocks rallied into the end of the quarter, then paused while investors waited for results before resuming their climb.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
The passage of the bill was paused after families involved in the campaign opposed an opt-out for intelligence services.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The next step to look for is a resumption in U.S. sanctions enforcement, which the MOU paused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
They paused, seven hours in, for Ratwin to fish, and Nighthand swung himself over the edge of the boat after her and into the water.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Her higher monthly bill means putting away less for her children’s college education and pausing family vacations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
He began his visit at a cemetery, pausing in prayer in an area where unidentified migrants are buried in numbered graves.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Earlier this week, Australia’s central bank also stood pat, pausing after three consecutive rate increases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
“And all he did was watch me,” Kingsley says, holding my gaze, pausing for effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Down the hall she went, stopping at her locker, grabbing her things, and heading for the door, pausing only to tell her friend Gregory Pitts that he smells like his last name.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
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.
