TOP

Definition of pause verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

pause

verb
 
/pɔːz/
 
/pɔːz/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they pause
 
/pɔːz/
 
/pɔːz/
he / she / it pauses
 
/ˈpɔːzɪz/
 
/ˈpɔːzɪz/
past simple paused
 
/pɔːzd/
 
/pɔːzd/
past participle paused
 
/pɔːzd/
 
/pɔːzd/
-ing form pausing
 
/ˈpɔːzɪŋ/
 
/ˈpɔːzɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [intransitive] to stop talking or doing something for a short time before continuing
    • Anita paused for a moment, then said: ‘All right’.
    • The woman spoke almost without pausing for breath (= very quickly).
    • I paused at the door and looked back.
    • Pausing only to pull on a sweater, he ran out of the house.
    Extra Examples
    • Just pause to think before giving me your answer.
    • She paused a moment and then walked away.
    • She paused occasionally to smell the flowers.
    • Without pausing to knock, she opened the door.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • briefly
    • (for) a moment
    • momentarily
    phrases
    • pause for breath
    • pause for thought
    • pause only long enough to do something
    See full entry
  2. [transitive] pause something to stop a video, etc. for a short time using the pause button
    • She paused the movie to go and answer the door.
  3. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pausein ‘to stop’.
See pause in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee pause in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
dizzy
adjective
 
 
From the Topic
Health problems
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day