pause

present singular third person pauses · participle present pausing · participle past paused · past paused

1. intransitiveTo take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort.
2. transitiveTo 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.

   2025 February 19, Chris Howe, “Euston: a work in progress”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 44

3. intransitiveTo interrupt an activity and wait.

   When telling the scary story, he paused for effect.

   4 more examples

   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, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   pausing a while thus to herself she mused

   1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

   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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

   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

4. intransitiveTo hesitate; to hold back; to delay.

   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, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

5. transitiveTo 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

   1 more example

   Press Start at any time to pause the game.

   2008, “Story Mode”, in Cory in the House: Instruction Booklet, Burbank, California: Disney Interactive Studios; Nintendo, page 9

6. intransitiveobsoleteTo consider; to reflect.

   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, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]

plural pauses

1. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.

   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, →OCLC, page 374

   Synonyms: hiatus, moratorium, recess, caesura

2. A short time for relaxing and doing something else.

   Synonyms: break, holiday, recess, annual leave, break, day off, getaway, holiday

3. figurativelyHesitation; suspense; doubt.

   to take pause

   to hesitate

   3 more examples

   to give pause

   to cause to hesitate

   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, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]

   The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, said on Sunday he would have “great pause” about granting a pardon or commutation to Ghislaine Maxwell while another House Republican said it should be considered as part of an effort to obtain more information about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

   2025 July 27, Sam Levine, quoting Mike Johnson, “Mike Johnson would have ‘great pause’ about a Ghislaine Maxwell pardon”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: vacillation, wavering

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.

   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 (date written), [John Locke], “[An Essay for the Understanding of St. Paul’s Epistles, […]]”, in A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1707, →OCLC, page xxiii

6. entertainmentA sign indicating continuance of a note or rest.
7. Alternative letter-case form of Pause (“a button that pauses or resumes something”).

1. slangAfrican-American VernacularUsed immediately after a statement to indicate that there was no innuendo or homosexual meaning intended, especially when such a meaning is a reasonable interpretation.

   Synonyms: no homo

plural Pauses · alternative pause

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