• (British) enPR: pôz, IPA: /pɔːz/
• (America) enPR: pôz, IPA: /pɔz/
• (cot-caught) enPR: päz, IPA: /pɑz/

pause (pauses, present participle pausing; 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.

   When telling the scary story, he paused for effect.

   • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Tarry, pause a day or two.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 9”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:

     pausing a while thus to herself she mused

3. (intransitive) To hesitate; to hold back; to delay.
   • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture.

4. (transitive) 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

5. (intransitive, obsolete) To consider; to reflect.
   • c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i]:

     Take time to pause.

• Spanish: receso, descanso

• French: faire une pause, pauser
• German: pausieren, innehalten
• Italian: mettere in pausa
• Portuguese: pausar
• Russian: де́лать пауза
• Spanish: pausar, interrumpir, suspender, parar

• German: pausieren

pause (plural pauses)

1. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.
2. A short time for relaxing and doing something else.
3. Hesitation; suspense; doubt.
   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene iii]:

     I stand in pause where I shall first begin.

4. In writing and printing, a mark indicating the place and nature of an arrest of voice in reading; a punctuation mark.

   Teach the pupil to mind the pauses.

5. A break or paragraph in writing.
   • a. 1705, [John Locke], “[(please specify the title)]”, in A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 17, OCLC 1153704013 ↗:

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

6. (music) A sign indicating continuance of a note or rest.
7. Alternative spelling of Pause
8. (as direct object) take pause: hesitate; give pause: cause to hesitate

• (temporary stop or rest) hiatus, moratorium, recess; see also Thesaurus:pause
• (short time for relaxing) break, holiday, recess; see also Thesaurus:vacation
• (hesitation) vacillation, wavering

• French: pause
• German: Pause
• Italian: pausa
• Portuguese: pausa
• Russian: па́уза
• Spanish: pausa

pause (plural pauses)

1. A button whose functions are pausing and resuming something, such as a DVD player, a video game or a computer.