pause

verb

/pɔːz/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they pause	/pɔːz/ /pɔːz/
he / she / it pauses	/ˈpɔːzɪz/ /ˈpɔːzɪz/
past simple paused	/pɔːzd/ /pɔːzd/
past participle paused	/pɔːzd/ /pɔːzd/
-ing form pausing	/ˈpɔːzɪŋ/ /ˈpɔːzɪŋ/

jump to other results

[intransitive] to stop talking or doing something for a short time before continuing
- Anita paused for a moment, then said: ‘All right’.
- The woman spoke almost without pausing for breath (= very quickly).
- I paused at the door and looked back.
- Pausing only to pull on a sweater, he ran out of the house.
Extra Examples
- Just pause to think before giving me your answer.
- She paused a moment and then walked away.
- She paused occasionally to smell the flowers.
- Without pausing to knock, she opened the door.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- briefly
- (for) a moment
- momentarily
- …
phrases
- pause for breath
- pause for thought
- pause only long enough to do something
- …
See full entry
[transitive] pause something to stop a video, etc. for a short time using the pause button
- She paused the movie to go and answer the door.

Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pausein ‘to stop’.

noun

/pɔːz/

Idioms

jump to other results

[countable] a period of time during which somebody stops talking or stops what they are doing
- There was a long pause before she answered.
- After a brief pause, they continued climbing.
- pause in something David waited for a pause in the conversation so he could ask his question.
- without pause The rain fell without pause.
Extra Examples
- He made frequent pauses to catch his breath.
- He read very slowly and with frequent pauses.
- In the pause that followed, I noticed that he was shaking.
- Shall we take a pause here?
- She read the whole text without a pause.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- brief
- momentary
- short
- …
verb + pause
- take
pause + verb
- follow
pause + noun
- button
preposition
- after a/the pause
- in a/the pause
- with a/ the pause
- …
See full entry
[countable] (especially British English)
(also fermata especially in North American English)
(music) a sign (͒) over a note or a rest to show that it should be longer than usual
[uncountable]
(also pause button)
a control that allows you to stop a video, etc. for a short time
- Press pause to stop the film.

Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pausein ‘to stop’.

Idioms

give (somebody) pause

(also give (somebody) pause for thought)

(formal) to make somebody think seriously about something or hesitate before doing something
- Popular resistance to the measures should give the government pause.

a pregnant pause/silence

an occasion when nobody speaks, although people are aware that there are feelings or thoughts to express
- There was a pregnant pause before she replied.