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⇱ pause - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

pause

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɔːz/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pɔz/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pôz)

Inflections of 'pause' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
pauses
v 3rd person singular
pausing
v pres p
paused
v past
paused
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pause /pɔz/USA pronunciation   n., v., paused, paus•ing. 
n. [countable]
  1. a temporary stop or rest:After a brief pause, he resumed his speech.

v. [no object]
  1. to make a brief stop or delay:The pilot paused, then dove toward the target.
Idioms
  1. Idioms give pause, to cause to hesitate or reconsider, as from surprise or doubt: [give + object + pause]The presence of the bodyguards and their two machine guns gave him pause.[~ + pause + to + object]The bitter cold gave pause to even the most curious onlooker.


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pause  (pôz),USA pronunciation n., v., paused, paus•ing. 
n. 
  1. a temporary stop or rest, esp. in speech or action:a short pause after each stroke of the oar.
  2. a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty;
    a momentary hesitation.
  3. any comparatively brief stop, delay, wait, etc.:I would like to make a pause in my talk and continue after lunch.
  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. Poetry[Pros.]a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.
  6. Music and Dancea fermata.
  7. Idioms give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt:These frightening statistics give us pause.

v.i. 
  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.
  2. to dwell or linger (usually fol. by on or upon):to pause upon a particular point.
  • Greek paûsis a halt, equivalent. to paú(ein) to stop + -sis -sis; (verb, verbal) derivative of the noun, nominal
  • Latin pausa
  • (noun, nominal) Middle English 1400–50
paus′al, adj. 
pause′ful, adj. 
pause′ful•ly, adv. 
pause′less, adj. 
pause′less•ly, adv. 
paus′er, n. 
paus′ing•ly, adv. 
    1–3. suspension, interruption, break, halt; hiatus, lacuna. 8. rest. 9. tarry, delay.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pause /pɔːz/ vb
  1. (intransitive) to cease an action temporarily; stop
  2. (intransitive) to hesitate; delay: she replied without pausing
  3. (transitive) to interrupt temporarily the operation of (a device or process): she paused the DVD
 n
  1. a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break
  2. a control button on an electronic device that allows the temporary interruption of playback or recording
  3. another word for caesura
  4. Also called: fermata a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length
  5. give pause to ⇒ to cause to hesitate
Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin pausa pause, from Greek pausis, from pauein to halt
'pause' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: took a dramatic pause, took a pause to [think, consider, drink], there was a pause in the [conversation, music, commotion], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "pause" in the title:

...contained such dubieties as give non-insiders pause
'Bye -- to mark a pause on b?
a beetle pause
a brief pause
A few seconds pause
A habitual situation with or without a pause?
attar of roses gave me pause
But it were absurd to pause in the detail of my extravagance.
cause for pause
didn't pause long enough to hear our answer
Do you pause before or after the infinite to while reading?
Ellipsis (a pause) after a period
filling up each pause
Getting worse in a great deal at a time after a pause
give one pause
<given pause> by
Go back and play it from the 2 minute mark. Pause it at the 4 minute mark.
Have you ever thought about becoming a doctor? (pause)
he and I had taken pause in our contention
Hit pause
hit pause
hit the pause button
how do you pause when reading be assumed as
I have been working here since 2000. with pause
I will pause...I will then read...
i wish the earth would PAUSE ??
I've just seen him (pause) A moment ago
In the moment's pause I <speak of>, I saw~
Indicating a pause in dialog [punctuation]
information in a case is presented in chunks to pause the process of care at key junctures
more...

Look up "pause" at Merriam-Webster
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