[pawz] 
noun, verb, paused, paus⋅ing.| 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. | Prosody. a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse. |
| 6. | Music. a fermata. |
| 7. | 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. |
| 8. | to dwell or linger (usually fol. by on or upon): to pause upon a particular point. |
| 9. | give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt: These frightening statistics give us pause. |
pause (pôz)
n.
A temporary stop or cessation.