/ pɔːz; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
[ v ] to stop talking or doing sth 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.
2.
[ vn ] to stop a tape, CD, etc. for a short time using the pause button :
She paused the video and went to answer the phone.
■ noun
1.
[ C ] pause (in sth) a period of time during which sb stops talking or stops what they are doing :
There was a long pause before she answered.
David waited for a pause in the conversation so he could ask his question.
After a brief pause, they continued climbing.
The rain fell without pause .
2.
[ C ] ( especially BrE ) (also fer·mata especially in NAmE ) ( music ) a sign () over a note or a rest to show that it should be longer than usual
3.
[ U ] (also ˈpause button ) a control that allows you to stop a tape recorder , CD player, etc. for a short time :
Press pause to stop the tape.
•
IDIOMS
- give (sb) pause
—more at pregnant
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French , from Latin pausa , from Greek pausis , from pausein to stop.