pause

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   temporary inactivity

   There is a pause right now.

2. 2
   noun

   a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

   The pause was five minutes long.

3. 3
   verb

   to cease an action temporarily

   We paused for halftime.

4. 4
   verb

   to interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing

   The speaker paused before important phrases to add emphasis.

5. 5
   verb

   To stop (an activity) for a while.

   The general public could therefore have been forgiven for thinking that work on the new station had stopped. But pausing work on an active construction site of this size is not straightforward.

6. 6
   verb

   To interrupt an activity and wait.

   When telling the scary story, he paused for effect.

7. 7
   verb

   To hesitate; to hold back; to delay.

   Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture.

8. 8
   verb

   To halt the play or playback of, temporarily, so that it can be resumed from the same point.

   to pause a song, a video, or a computer game

Etymology

From Middle French pause, from Latin pausa, from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis), from Ancient Greek παύω (paúō, “stop”), of uncertain origin. Doublet of pausa.