pause
Americannoun
-
pauses
plural
-
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
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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
-
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)
-
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
-
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
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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
-
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
-
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
-
have been pausingperfect progressive
-
has been pausingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Logan explained that she supported the pause because raising rates gradually “can help households, businesses and market participants adapt to higher rates and reduce the risk that economic activity deteriorates more sharply than necessary.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
A federal judge ruled against the company in August, and an appeals court refused in September to pause enforcement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
The move creates a 10 day pause on creditors calling in debts.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The pause also makes a December rate hike look more likely.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
As I cross from the science wing to the admin building, I pause.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Raman repeated it word for word, accent for accent, with no flubs or pauses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Nobody pauses to determine whether everyone wants enough chips to justify them.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Usman Muhammad pauses by the entrance to a tiny Nigerian prison cell and leans his forehead against the wall unable to speak.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Ms. Fox, a scholar of comparative literature, pauses to evoke what was about to be lost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The girl pauses, then continues, "Anyway. You better get going."
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
At an execution site of local people during British colonial times, the king paused to reflect in a gesture meant to indicate his awareness of this past injustice.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Volkswagen VOW3 0.28%increase; green up pointing triangle said it paused development on its ID.Golf model to preserve cash flow as it reported lower profit amid deteriorating market conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The outflows ceased when we paused withdrawal service earlier. We are still working with partners to freeze many of the impacted assets, and have frozen around $3 billion thus far,” it said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
We assumed, naively, that my husband’s salary would continue to increase, not that raises would be paused due to university budget concerns, and that once he got tenure, his earnings would essentially plateau.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
“He wrote a letter of support for Alex before he went, and”—she paused here, feeling her baby kick with what felt like urgency—“if Maya-Jade and her family allow it, he can come back to work.”
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
It announced in January it was pausing flights to focus on it other business, including development of its larger New Glenn rocket for satellite and other missions, as well as a lunar lander.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Competitive threats are growing amid “streamflation” concerns—financially pinched households cutting or pausing subscriptions to services such as Netflix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Maniscalco is an incredible businessman, and a pioneer in the craft of shouting a premise and then pausing until the audience agrees it’s a punchline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Our culture of ambition, output, and productivity makes pausing to have a snack, rest, or get some fresh air a luxury.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
“Ah, heaven, she gifs me the name that no one speaks since Minna died!” cried the Professor, pausing in a puddle to regard her with grateful delight.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
