pause
pause — noun
1. a brief time when speaking, movement, music, or another activity stops and then
a brief time when speaking, movement, music, or another activity stops and then continues.
After a short pause, the teacher wrote the answer on the board.
collocation: after a short pause
The phone line went quiet, then Mia spoke after a long pause.
During the pause between songs, people hurried to buy cold drinks.
pause between two parts of an event
Without a pause, the speaker read three pages in one breath.
Rain gave the match a two-minute pause before the final point.
- short pause
- long pause
- after a pause
- pause between songs
- break
common everyday word for a short stop or rest
- interruption
often suggests that something else stops the activity
- interval
more often a planned break in a show or event
- continuation
emphasizes that the activity keeps going
- flow
suggests smooth movement or speech without a break
Usage Note
Common with after, during, and without. It can describe a natural break in speech, music, movement, or another continuing activity.
2. the button, key, or screen control that briefly stops a recording, video, or sim
the button, key, or screen control that briefly stops a recording, video, or similar media.
Nora hit pause when the baby began to cry.
hit pause on a device
Use the pause button before you answer the front door.
Luca pressed the pause button at the exact second of the goal.
Grandpa asked which sign on the screen meant pause.
screen symbol labeled pause
On this app, pause sits next to the red record icon.
- press pause
- hit pause
- pause button
- pause icon
- pause button
the most exact everyday term
- control
broader device word, not only for media
- icon
used when the control appears as a screen symbol
Usage Note
Often appears with button, key, icon, or control when naming part of a device or app.
Common Mistakes
3. a silent beat between notes in a piece of music, or the written mark for that si
a silent beat between notes in a piece of music, or the written mark for that silence.
The singer counted the pause before the drums came in.
music: pause before the next sound
In bar six, the pause is too short; hold one more beat.
Ella circled the pause in her violin part with pencil.
written pause in sheet music
The class missed the pause in bar four and came in early.
Our piano teacher asked for a cleaner pause between those notes.
- pause between notes
- count the pause
- written pause
- pause in bar four
Usage Note
In music teaching, rest is often the more usual technical word, but pause can still be used for the silence or its sign.
4. a music sign that tells you to keep a note or a rest going longer than written.
a music sign that tells you to keep a note or a rest going longer than written.
The conductor pointed at the pause above the last chord and held his hand up.
music symbol: hold longer than written
Please watch the pause above the note and wait for my cue.
In bar eight, the pause keeps the last rest going longer.
pause above a note or rest
Leo forgot the pause sign and ended the hymn too soon.
The choir watched the pause above the final note and waited for the cue.
- pause sign
- pause above the note
- watch the pause
- under a pause
Usage Note
Usually written above a note or rest and often called a fermata in music classes.
pause — verb
1. to briefly stop speaking, moving, or another ordinary activity, or to make it st
to briefly stop speaking, moving, or another ordinary activity, or to make it stop for a moment before it continues.
Maya paused to tie her shoe before crossing the road.
pause to + verb
The guide paused for water, then led us up the hill.
pause for + noun
The coach paused practice for two minutes after Noah fell.
transitive: pause something
Please pause and check the map before we turn left.
The parade paused at the front gate while the band fixed a drum.
- pause briefly
- pause for breath
- pause to think
- pause the meeting
Grammar Patterns
pause
pause something
pause for + noun
pause to + verb
Usage Note
Unlike stop, this verb usually suggests that the same activity will continue soon. It is common with pause for + noun and pause to + verb.
Common Mistakes
2. to hold a video, recording, podcast, game, or similar media at its current point
to hold a video, recording, podcast, game, or similar media at its current point by using the device control.
Sam paused the video and answered his mother's call.
pause + video
I paused the podcast when the train entered the tunnel.
The children paused the game to help Grandpa carry boxes.
pause + game
Nina paused the voice note at the house number and wrote it down.
Please pause the recording before you change the cable.
device action: pause the recording
- pause the video
- pause the recording
- pause the game
- pause the podcast
Grammar Patterns
pause something
Usage Note
Object is usually a video, recording, podcast, or game controlled by a device. Distinguish from verb/1, which is used for ordinary actions such as walking, speaking, or working.
Common Mistakes
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
Pause, stop, halt, interrupt, and break all relate to not continuing an action, but they are used differently. In verb/1, pause usually means you stop only for a short time and expect to continue soon. Stop is broader and may be temporary or final. Halt is more formal and often sounds sudden or complete. Interrupt focuses on another person or event cutting into what was happening, rather than the short stop itself. Break is especially common for rest from work or study, and it is often used as a noun. Maya paused before answering, the driver stopped at the gate, the storm halted the match, and Leo interrupted the lesson with a joke.
Etymology
English pause came through Old French from Latin pausa, both meaning a stop or rest. Latin had taken the word from Greek pausis, which also meant a stopping. The basic idea has stayed close to the modern sense of stopping for a short time.