hes ‧ i ‧ tate W3 /ˈhezəteɪt, ˈhezɪteɪt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of haesitare 'to stick firmly, hesitate' , from haerere 'to stick' ]
1 . [intransitive] to pause before saying or doing something because you are nervous or not sure:
Kay hesitated for a moment and then said ‘yes’.
hesitate about/over
He was still hesitating over whether to leave or not.
2 . don’t hesitate to do something used to tell someone that it is correct or right for them to do something and they do not have to worry about offending anyone:
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any more information.
—hesitatingly adverb
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THESAURUS
▪ pause to stop speaking or stop doing something for a very short time before starting again. Pause is used especially in written descriptions. In everyday spoken English, people usually just say stop :
She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the clock.
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He paused, waiting for Larry to say something.
▪ hesitate to stop for a moment and wait before doing something, because you feel unsure or nervous about it:
She hesitated for a moment before replying.
▪ have/take a break to stop working for a short time in order to rest, eat etc:
We’re all getting tired. Let’s take a break for ten minutes.
▪ adjourn formal if a meeting or court adjourns or is adjourned, it stops for a short time:
If there are no more questions, the committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning.
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The trial was adjourned because one of the defendants was ill.
▪ take five especially American English informal to stop for a short time in order to rest:
Let’s take five and get some coffee.
▪ break off to suddenly stop speaking, especially because you see, hear, or think of something:
He broke off his conversation when he saw Mary running towards him.
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She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’