pause
Americannoun
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pauses
plural
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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
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a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty; a momentary hesitation.
- Synonyms:
- lacuna, hiatus, halt, break, interruption, suspension
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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
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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.
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Music. a fermata.
verb (used without object)
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pauses,
present (3rd person singular)
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paused,
past participle, past
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pausing
present participle
idioms
verb
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to cease an action temporarily; stop
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to hesitate; delay
she replied without pausing
noun
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a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break
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prosody another word for caesura
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Also called: fermata. music a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length
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to cause to hesitate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonpausenoun
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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
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pausefullyadverb
-
pauselesslyadverb
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pausinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pausesimple
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pausessimple
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have pausedperfect
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has pausedperfect
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am pausingprogressive
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are pausingprogressive
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is pausingprogressive
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have been pausingperfect progressive
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has been pausingperfect progressive
Past
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pausedsimple
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had pausedperfect
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was pausingprogressive
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were pausingprogressive
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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:
Talks between Washington and Tehran to pause the military strikes also appear to have stalled as both sides continue to publicly issue demands.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
At one extreme, you’ve got activists calling for a pause of AI development, worried about the safety of such systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Despite a pause in most tariffs following talks in May 2025, Washington and Beijing have continued to exchange sanctions, including restrictions on humanoid robots shipped to the US and tighter Chinese curbs on drone exports.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
In early August, the government said the carmakers Dacia and Ford would pause production in the country until August 19 to help with the power deficit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
There was a pause, and then the Wicked Queen nodded.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
She pauses, takes a deep breath and looks away for a moment before continuing.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
First, however, Kennedy pauses to relitigate the federal government’s recent nutrition policy.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
The order pauses the deal for 14 days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
She pauses, quietly urging me to hear what she’s trying to make me understand.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
The U.S. has paused its attacks and Iranian strikes on commercial ships have gotten more infrequent.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
A judge temporarily paused Mamdani’s new tax on luxury second homes after residents filed a lawsuit accusing the city of botching the rollout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
His campaign manager said Duncan has paused his pursuit of a law license in part because of his race for court clerk and Murrill’s persistent threats.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
He only paused to take photos of the night sky and rest for a few hours in Bordeaux.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Regan was already halfway out of it, but then she paused and looked back at her mom.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
President Donald Trump's administration said Monday it was pausing construction on a $1.7 billion border project at Big Bend National Park in Texas that has faced bipartisan opposition.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
OpenAI is pausing some activities involving an upcoming artificial-intelligence model, Astra, after internal evaluations led the company to conclude it “cannot rule out critical cyber capabilities,” the company said in a blog post on Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"A non-functional mouse is not just about pausing the timer," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
At home, I put it on my bedside table, pausing to start the rice cooker on my way.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Hang on just a second, Ingrid,” Grandma said, pausing the video to make a cut.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
