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pause

[pawz]

noun

a temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action: a short pause after each stroke of the oar.

a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty; a momentary hesitation.

any comparatively brief stop, delay, wait, etc.: I would like to make a pause in my talk and continue after lunch.

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.

Prosody. a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.

EXPAND

Music. a fermata.

COLLAPSE

verb (used without object)

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.

to dwell or linger (usually followed by on or upon): to pause upon a particular point.

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Pause is one of our favorite verbs.

So is skedaddle. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Idiom

give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt: These frightening statistics give us pause.

Origin:
1400–50; (noun) Middle English < Latin pausa < Greek paûsis a halt, equivalent to paú(ein) to stop + -sis -sis; (v.) derivative of the noun

Related forms

paus·al, adjective

pause·ful, adjective

pause·ful·ly, adverb

pause·less, adjective

pause·less·ly, adverb

EXPAND

paus·er, noun

paus·ing·ly, adverb

non·pause, noun

un·paus·ing, adjective

COLLAPSE

Can be confused: pause, paws, pores, pours.

Synonyms
1–3. suspension, interruption, break, halt; hiatus, lacuna. 7. rest. 8. tarry, delay.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To pause

Example Sentences

Vincent was the third witness to testify that there was a pause between two volleys of gunshots.

If the pause point for going through the checklist takes too long, users tend to stop paying attention to the checklist process.

Because higher interest rates take a while to show their full effect, prudence suggests a pause.

EXPAND

Vincent was the third witness to testify that there was a pause between two volleys of gunshots.

If the pause point for going through the checklist takes too long, users tend to stop paying attention to the checklist process.

Because higher interest rates take a while to show their full effect, prudence suggests a pause.

The number, juxtaposed next to the recycle symbol, gives you pause.

But they didn't pause when fake typos appeared on-screen only.

Pause for a few moments on one of its wrought-iron benches, and you think you could stay there forever.

Exhale10 hideaways that press the pause button on the end-of-year whirl.

Unfortunately, neither the right-pointing triangle nor the double pause bars seem to have a definitive origin.

Testing will begin in spring training, pause for the regular season and then resume.

The fact that it's been on the market for a couple of months gives me pause.

No doubt, vanloads of riot police lining the roads give would-be protesters pause for thought.

Song is robinlike in its short fluty phrases, rendered with a pause in between.

Most of time people can take a brief pause from having an attention to driving for example to eat while in driving situation.

Our precious earth portrayed in all its splenderA momentary pause of emotion.

But on the phone, no one can predict when it's their turn, and people cut each other off or pause too long.

The decision was described as a pause in war-crimes proceedings so that the new administration can evaluate the system.

But the intensity of pursuit makes one pause and speculate a bit.

China has announced a pause in its ambitious plans for nuclear growth.

Dukha hunters pause to look for signs of game in the mountains.

Attack the first guy with such viciousness that it gives the rest pause.

So that human connection does cause us to pause and hope that she is well from her personal struggle with cancer.

Pause at one of the pullouts and you'll get a sense of the geologic powers that shaped the canyon.

Your download resumes with only the slightest pause while you go over your digital slide presentation one more time.

Not long ago a new couple in town threw a party that gave some people pause.

Let me pause here to comment on a popular graduate-student pastime: complaining about grad school.

China has announced a pause in nuclear commissioning, and a review.

On the way out of camp there was a pause for the traditional blessing.

Take a minute to pause your reading and think about the feeling of your clothes against your skin.

The adult giraffes pause and regard us nonchalantly before going back to their browsing.

Also, if your iPhone rings while watching a movie, you would probably want to pause or mute your entertainment.

She would parrot the whir of a helicopter, pause on each.

The commentary gave me pause to rethink it in somewhat more generous terms.

Though a peasant-farmer group plans a protest next week, the opposition is now likely to pause and try to reorganise.

As you read, pause occasionally and encourage students to talk about how sunflowers grow.

It is telling a morality story that should give pause to all academics in power.

Livesunkept discovered he could pause a movie a few minutes into playback, then wait until it was completely.

Past history has shown that landslides are more likely to occur when rain resumes after a pause than during a steady rain.

It's okay to pause and come up with a good response.

The bigger risk is that nervousness about a weakening world economy leads to a premature pause in the tightening.

Pause when appropriate to discuss students' observations and questions.

It doesn't seem to allow you to pause any of the tests, so make sure you have enough time to complete the chosen test.

Their movement is almost as distinctive as their call: hasten and pause, hasten and pause.

She told me to speak slowly, breathe, and not be afraid to pause while speaking.

Or the valuation alone may be sufficient to give pause to the axeman, or the taxman.

The pause in the valley's flooding arose from the discovery of the two villas.

Mougin shelved the outlandish idea and put the dream on pause.

Markham should give pause to overzealous poets who rush annually into print with a little sheaf of rhymes.

Obsessed with the utter mystery of human existence, he made connections where others saw nothing to pause over.

Parks must also keep wildlife in mind, since bears and elk do not pause for borders.

As they read, pause to discuss how prior knowledge is helping them learn new information.

By selecting various body parts during this momentary pause in combat you can blind your.

It might reinforce your decision, or give you pause.

Pause the simulation and explain that the dolphins are becoming alarmed at the number of tiger sharks swimming around.

At several points, the game appears to pause for half a second before it abruptly transitions to a completely new segment.

Interesting new twist on the application process, and gives us pause.

Encourage students to pause after they read each section to sum up the main idea.

Finally they have a skip and pause button built into the cable.

After a pause to reposition the ropes, they slowly pulled up a plain wooden box.

While you can pause and scrub forward and back on programming, you are a captive audience to the ads.

After each section of the article, have students pause and summarize the big idea in that section.

During the video, pause wherever appropriate to check students' comprehension.

After each section of the story, have students pause and summarize what they have read.

Pause often to look up at the marvelous buildings, but pay close attention to where you step.

Pause in the forgotten valleys and villages of this mystical land of artists and visionaries.

His story might make a shooter pause the next time a magnificent specimen strays into rifle.

The guides pause at the hippo and gorilla exhibits and talk expertly about the animals and their habitats.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

pause (pɔːz)

—vb
1.	to cease an action temporarily; stop
2.	to hesitate; delay: she replied without pausing

—n
3.	a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break
4.	prosody another word for caesura
5.	music Also called: fermata, Usual symbol: a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length
6.	give pause to to cause to hesitate

[C15: from Latin pausa pause, from Greek pausis, from pauein to halt]

'pausal

—*adj*

'pauser

—n

'pausing

—n, —*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pause

1426, from M.Fr. pause (14c.), from L. pausa "a halt, stop, cessation," from Gk. pausis "stopping, ceasing," from pauein "to stop, to cause to cease." The verb is from 1526.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

pause (pôz)
n.
A temporary stop or cessation.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

pause

see give pause.

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