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Definition of pause - 8 dictionary results

pause

  [pawz] noun, verb, paused, paus⋅ing.
Use pause in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–verb (used without object)
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.
—Idiom
9. give pause, to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt: These frightening statistics give us pause.
Origin:
1400–50; (n.) ME < L pausa < Gk paûsis a halt, equiv. to paú(ein) to stop + -sis -sis; (v.) deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
pausal, adjective
pauseful, adjective
pause⋅ful⋅ly, adverb
pauseless, adjective
pause⋅less⋅ly, adverb
pauser, noun
paus⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pause
pause   (pôz)   
v.   paused, paus·ing, paus·es

v.   intr.
  1. To cease or suspend an action temporarily.
  2. To linger; tarry: paused for a while under the huge oak tree.
  3. To hesitate: He paused before replying.
v.   tr.
To cease or suspend the action of temporarily; stop for an interim: "Once a movie [ordered on demand] begins, it can be paused but not rewound or fast-forwarded" (George Judson).
n.  
  1. A temporary cessation.
  2. A delay or suspended reaction, as from uncertainty; a hesitation: After a pause the audience broke into cheers.
  3. A break, stop, or rest, often for a calculated purpose or effect: After a dramatic pause, the lawyer finished her summation.
    1. Music A sign indicating that a note or rest is to be held.
    2. A break or rest in a line of poetry; a caesura.
  5. Reason for hesitation: The immensity of the task gives one pause.

[From Middle English, pause, from Old French, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pauein, to stop.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote a temporary stop, as in activity: a short pause in the conversation; a concert with a 15-minute intermission; the legislature's summer recess; toiling without respite; a suspension of work.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pause

Pause\, n. [F., fr. L. pausa. See Pose.]

1. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.

2. Temporary inaction or waiting; hesitation; suspence; doubt.

I stand in pause where I shall first begin. --Shak.

3. In speaking or reading aloud, a brief arrest or suspension of voice, to indicate the limits and relations of sentences and their parts.

4. In writing and printing, a mark indicating the place and nature of an arrest of voice in reading; a punctuation point; as, teach the pupil to mind the pauses.

5. A break or paragraph in writing.

He writes with warmth, which usually neglects method, and those partitions and pauses which men educated in schools observe. --Locke.

6. (Mus.) A hold. See 4th Hold, 7.

Syn: Stop; cessation; suspension.

Pause

Pause\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Paused; p. pr. & vb. n. Pausing.] [Cf. F. pauser, L. pausare. See Pause, n., Pose.]

1. To make a short stop; to cease for a time; to intermit speaking or acting; to stop; to wait; to rest. "Tarry, pause a day or two." --Shak.

Pausing while, thus to herself she mused. --Milton.

2. To be intermitted; to cease; as, the music pauses.

3. To hesitate; to hold back; to delay. [R.]

Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture. --Shak.

4. To stop in order to consider; hence, to consider; to reflect. [R.] "Take time to pause." --Shak.

To pause upon, to deliberate concerning. --Shak.

Syn: To intermit; stop; stay; wait; delay; tarry; hesitate; demur.

Pause

Pause\, v. t. To cause to stop or rest; -- used reflexively. [R.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pause
Spanish: pausa, silencio,
German: die Pause,
Japanese: 休止
More Translations »

pause  (n.)
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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pause (pôz)
n.
A temporary stop or cessation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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pause

see give pause.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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