I. ˈpȯz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pause, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pauein to stop + -sis; akin to Greek paula rest and perhaps to Old Slavic pustŭ waste, desert
1. : a temporary stop : intermission of movement or speech : brief cessation : respite
there is often value in a pause followed by a fresh start — Leslie Rees
came to a pause , frowning in concentration — T.S.Stribling
2.
a. : a break in a verse
b. : a brief suspension of the voice to indicate the limits and relations of sentences and their parts
have opened up a new dimension of grammar by listening to its intonations, stresses, and pauses — Richard Braddock
3. : temporary inaction often caused by doubt or uncertainty
had my moments of anxious pause — W.A.White
4.
a. : rest I 5
b. : fermata 2
c. : a break or paragraph in writing
d. : a pausal stop or intermission in speaking (as in Hebrew)
e. : the form taken by a word or vowel when occurring before a pausal stop (as in Hebrew)
5. : a reason for pausing
a thought that should give tremendous pause — Alistair Cooke
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from Late Latin pausare to stop, rest, from Latin pausa pause
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to cease for a time : refrain from acting or speaking for a brief interval : stop temporarily
people seemed to pause , listening for a message — Sylvia Berkman
b. : to become silent : wait silently
I pause for a reply — Shakespeare
2. : to hold for a time : linger — used with on or upon
the singer paused on the high note
paused upon the threshold to survey the room
3. : to stop to consider before proceeding : hesitate
one ought also to pause and ponder seriously — Lionel Whitby
paused thoughtfully for perhaps two seconds before she consented — G.B.Shaw
4. : to delay before going on : remain , stay , tarry
here hikers pause to rest — American Guide Series: Connecticut
the expedition had to pause while barges were built — R.A.Billington
transitive verb
: to cause to cease or rest
bad times before … had but paused him in his climb — Adrian Bell
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
dialect England : kick