- a temporary stop or rest, especially in speech or action: a short pause after each stroke of the oar.
- a cessation of activity because of doubt or uncertainty; a momentary hesitation.
- any comparatively brief stop, delay, wait, etc.: I would like to make a pause in my talk and continue after lunch.
- a break or rest in speaking or reading to emphasize meaning, grammatical relation, metrical division, etc., or in writing or printing by the use of punctuation.
- a break or suspension, as a caesura, in a line of verse.
- a fermata.
- to make a brief stop or delay; wait; hesitate: He paused at the edge of the pool for a moment. I'll pause in my lecture so we can all get some coffee.
- to dwell or linger (usually followed by on or upon): to pause upon a particular point.
- to cause to hesitate or be unsure, as from surprise or doubt: These frightening statistics give us pause.
- to cease an action temporarily; stop
- to hesitate; delay
- a temporary stop or rest, esp in speech or action; short break
- prosody another word for caesura
- a continuation of a note or rest beyond its normal length
- to cause to hesitate
