Definition of "pause"

pause

/pɔːz/

verb
third-person singular simple present pauses, present participle pausing, simple past and past participle paused
1. (intransitive) To take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort.
2. (intransitive) To interrupt an activity and wait.
  Quotations
  Tarry, pause a day or two.
  c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene ii]
  pausing a while thus to herself she mused
  1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
  She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’
  1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess‎
  Will this affect HS2 and other major projects?[...] Work at the majority of sites has paused, although some staff may be present to ensure the safety and security of these sites and to make safety assessments. [...]
  2020 April 8, “Network News: COVID-19: Questions and Answers”, in Rail, page 11
3. (intransitive) To hesitate; to hold back; to delay.
  Quotations
  Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture.
  c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene i]
4. (transitive) To halt the play or playback of, temporarily, so that it can be resumed from the same point.
5. (intransitive, obsolete) To consider; to reflect.
  Quotations
  Take time to pause.
  c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i]
noun
plural pauses
1. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.
  Quotations
  If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.
  1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, page 374
2. A short time for relaxing and doing something else.
3. Hesitation; suspense; doubt.
  Quotations
  And like a man to double buſsines bound, / I ſtand in pauſe where I ſhall firſt beginne, [...]
  c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, [Act III, scene iii]
4. In writing and printing, a mark indicating the place and nature of an arrest of voice in reading; a punctuation mark.
5. A break or paragraph in writing.
  Quotations
  He [Paul] is full of the Matter he treats and writes with Warmth, which uſually neglects Method, and thoſe Partitions and Pauſes which Men educated in the Schools of Rhetoricians uſually obſerve.
  a. 1705, [John Locke], “[An Essay for the Understanding of St. Paul’s Epistles, […]]”, in A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1707, page xxiii
6. (music) A sign indicating continuance of a note or rest.
7. Alternative spelling of Pause (“a button that pauses or resumes something”)
8. (as direct object) take pause: hesitate; give pause: cause to hesitate

Definition of "pause"

pause

verb

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noun

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