pause
pause Lexical Profile
pause Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action.
"After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, the speaker continued her presentation."
A control function or button on a media device or computer program that temporarily interrupts playback or operation.
"Please hit pause on the documentary while I go answer the front door."
Hesitation or uncertainty caused by doubt or careful consideration.
"The sudden drop in market confidence gave the investors serious pause before committing additional funds."
In music and prosody, a mark (such as a fermata) or rhythmic break indicating that a note, rest, or syllable is to be prolonged or followed by brief silence.
"The conductor held his baton aloft to observe the dramatic pause written at the end of the cadenza."
• verb
To interrupt an action, speech, or process temporarily before continuing.
"She paused at the top of the hill to catch her breath and admire the valley below."
To temporarily stop the playback or operation of a media recording, digital device, or ongoing program.
"He paused the podcast so he could listen to the station announcement."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often confused with the homophone 'paws' (the feet of a quadruped animal). In the idiom 'give someone pause', the noun specifically denotes a moment of hesitation, doubt, or careful reconsideration.
• Rhymes for pause
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 15th century from Middle French pause, from Latin pausa ('a halt, cessation'), which in turn came from Ancient Greek paûsis ('a stopping, ceasing'), derived from the verb paúein ('to stop, bring to an end').