- [countable] a period of time during which somebody stops talking or stops what they are doing
- There was a long pause before she answered.
- After a brief pause, they continued climbing.
- pause in something David waited for a pause in the conversation so he could ask his question.
- without pause The rain fell without pause.
Extra Examples- He made frequent pauses to catch his breath.
- He read very slowly and with frequent pauses.
- In the pause that followed, I noticed that he was shaking.
- Shall we take a pause here?
- She read the whole text without a pause.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brief
- momentary
- short
- …
- take
- follow
- button
- after a/the pause
- in a/the pause
- with a/ the pause
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] (especially British English) (also fermata especially in North American English)(music) a sign (͒) over a note or a rest to show that it should be longer than usual
- [uncountable] (also pause button)a control that allows you to stop a video, etc. for a short time
- Press pause to stop the film.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pausein ‘to stop’.
Idioms
See pause in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee pause in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishgive (somebody) pause
(also give (somebody) pause for thought)
- (formal) to make somebody think seriously about something or hesitate before doing something
- Popular resistance to the measures should give the government pause.
a pregnant pause/silence
- an occasion when nobody speaks, although people are aware that there are feelings or thoughts to express
- There was a pregnant pause before she replied.
Check pronunciation:
pause