pause
[verb]
Synonyms:
- stop briefly, break, cease, delay, halt, have a breather (informal), interrupt, rest, take a break, wait
[noun]
Synonyms:
- stop, break, breather (informal), cessation, gap, halt, interlude, intermission, interval, lull, respite, rest, stoppage

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Contrasted words: continuation, progression
Related Words: caesura, hush, lapse, letup, suspension, interlude, intermission, recess, respite, wait, break, gap, interruption, cessation, deval

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English Thesaurus: pause, hesitate, have/take a break, adjourn, take five, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pause¹ W3 /pɔːz $ pɒːz/ verb

1. [intransitive] to stop speaking or doing something for a short time before starting again
pause for
She paused for a moment.
He paused for breath, then continued up the hill.
‘No,’ he replied, without pausing for thought.
pause to do something
Joe paused to consider his answer.

2. [intransitive and transitive] to push a button on a tape player, CD player, computer etc in order to make a tape, CD etc stop playing for a short time

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pause² noun [countable]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: pausa, from Greek pausis, from pauein 'to stop']

1. a short time during which someone stops speaking or doing something before starting again:
There was a pause while Alice changed the tape.
After a long pause, she went on.
pause in
an awkward pause in the conversation

2. (also pause button) a control which allows you to stop a CD player, video recorder etc for a short time and start it again

3. a mark over a musical note, showing that the note is to be played or sung longer than usual

4. give somebody pause (for thought) to make someone stop and consider carefully what they are doing:
an avoidable accident that should give us all pause for thought

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pause
noun
ADJ. brief, momentary, short, slight, small | long, prolonged | frequent | awkward | pregnant
VERB + PAUSE take Shall we take a pause here?
PAUSE + VERB follow In the pause that followed, I noticed that he was shaking.
PAUSE + NOUN button (on a video recorder, etc.)
PREP. after a/the ~ ‘I don't know,’ he said after a long pause.
in a/the ~ Everyone nodded in agreement in the pauses.
with a/ the ~ He read very slowly and with frequent pauses.
without a/the ~ She read the whole text without a pause.
~ before There was a long pause before he spoke again.
~ between in the pauses between his jokes
~ for a pause for breath
~ in during a pause in the conversation

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pause
verb
ADV. briefly, (for) a moment, (for) an instant, momentarily She paused a moment and then walked away.
barely, hardly He spoke for two hours and barely paused for breath.
deliberately She paused deliberately, her eyes holding his.
dramatically, impressively, meaningfully, significantly | reflectively, thoughtfully | irresolutely
PHRASES pause for breath/thought, pause only (long enough) to do sth Pausing only to put out her cigarette, she left the room.
pause to consider/look/reflect/think Just pause to think before giving me your answer.
without pausing Without pausing to knock, she opened the door.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pause

briefly
At the doorway she paused briefly.
momentarily (=for a very short time)
He paused momentarily, then knocked twice more.
dramatically
'They have offered us a lot of money.' She paused dramatically.
pause (for) a moment
He paused for a moment, seemingly overcome by emotion.
pause for breath
She had to pause for breath after every two or three steps.
pause for thought
'Of course,' she replied, without pausing for thought.
pause for effect (=in order to make people eager to hear what you are going to say)
'Now I know what to do,' Brown said, pausing for effect.
pause only to do something
He paused only to make a few notes, and left.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pause to stop speaking or stop doing something for a very short time before starting again. Pause is used especially in written descriptions. In everyday spoken English, people usually just say stop:
She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the clock.
He paused, waiting for Larry to say something.
hesitate to stop for a moment and wait before doing something, because you feel unsure or nervous about it:
She hesitated for a moment before replying.
have/take a break to stop working for a short time in order to rest, eat etc:
We’re all getting tired. Let’s take a break for ten minutes.
adjourn formal if a meeting or court adjourns or is adjourned, it stops for a short time:
If there are no more questions, the committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning.
The trial was adjourned because one of the defendants was ill.
take five especially American English informal to stop for a short time in order to rest:
Let’s take five and get some coffee.
break off to suddenly stop speaking, especially because you see, hear, or think of something:
He broke off his conversation when he saw Mary running towards him.
She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’
a long pause
There was a long pause before anyone spoke.
a brief/short/slight pause
"Well, that was a surprise," he said after a brief pause.
a momentary pause (=very short)
There was a momentary pause during which Mr Hammond glanced at his wife.
an awkward pause
After an awkward pause, Ray began to answer my question.
a dramatic pause (=one that has a dramatic effect)
In the dramatic pause before she replied, you could feel the tension in the room.
a pregnant pause (=one that is full of meaning or emotion)
‘OK. Let’s move on,’ said the President after a pregnant pause.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

stop to not do something any longer:
I wish she would stop talking.
He waited for them to stop.
quit especially American English informal to stop doing something:
She needs to quit complaining about her life.
It’s too late for him to quit now.
give something up to stop doing something, especially something that you have been doing for a long time:
It’s so hard to give up smoking.
She wants to give up her job.
I’ve given up trying to tell my son to clean his room.
pack something in informal to stop doing something, especially because you feel tired or annoyed:
Sometimes I feel like packing in my job and starting again somewhere else.
Pack it in, will you! (=used when telling someone to stop doing something, because they are annoying you)
pull out of something to stop taking part in something that you have agreed to take part in:
The unions have pulled out of the negotiations.
The US decided to pull out of the competition.
cease formal to stop doing something:
The company has decided to cease production of its film cameras.
The US government ceased talks with North Korea.
pause to stop speaking or doing something for a short time before starting again:
He paused for a moment to consider the question.
‘I think it’s going to rain,’ she said, pausing to look up at the sky.
have/take a break to stop working, studying, or driving for a short time in order to rest:
Okay, everyone. Take a ten-minute break.
If you’re feeling tired, you should have a break.
break to stop working, studying etc in order to rest or eat something – used about a group of people who are doing something together:
After a couple of hours the committee broke for lunch.
come to an end to stop – used about something that has continued for a long time:
The war finally came to an end in 1918.
wear off to gradually stop – used about a pain, a feeling, or the effects of something:
The pain will soon wear off.
The excitement was beginning to wear off.
The anaesthetic took a long time to wear off.
peter out to gradually stop happening or existing:
The campaign petered out after only a few weeks.
come to a halt especially written to move more slowly and then stop – used about a vehicle:
The train slowly came to a halt just outside the station.
The plane came to a halt less than twenty yards away from the limousines.
pull over to move to the side of the road and stop – used about a vehicle or its driver:
The bus pulled over to the side of the road, with smoke coming out of its engine.
The police officer was waving at him to pull over.
pull up to stop close to something – used about a vehicle or its driver:
The taxi pulled up outside her house.
He pulled up next to our car.
come to a standstill to go slower and then stop moving completely:
The road was blocked by an accident, and the traffic quickly came to a standstill.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

pause
pɔ:z
See: give pause

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲