Meaning of “pause” in the English Dictionary

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"pause" in English

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uk /pɔːz/ us /pɑːz/

B2 [ C ] a short period in which something such as a sound or an activity is stopped before starting again:

There will be a brief pause in the proceedings while the piano is moved into place.

After a long, awkward pause, someone finally asked a question.

She spoke for three quarters of an hour without so much as a pause.

There followed a pregnant (= filled with meaning) pause in which neither of them knew what to say.

› [ U ] also pause button [ C ] a button or control that allows you to stop a recording for a short time:

I pressed pause/the pause button so I could go make a cup of tea.

› [ C ] UK specialized music a period of silence between musical notes, or a symbol that represents this

Synonym

rest

› [ C ] specialized music a symbol in music meaning that a note or rest should be held for longer than normal

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uk /pɔːz/ us /pɑːz/

B1 [ I ] to stop doing something for a short time:

He paused and thought for a moment.

She paused to catch her breath, and then kept on jogging.

Can you pause the movie there, please?

She paused at key moments in the scene.

More examples

He paused for a moment to listen and then continued eating.
He paused at the top of the hill and mopped his brow .
She paused to light another cigarette and then went on with her account of the accident.
Without pausing to draw breath she told me everything.
Pausing briefly to put on her jumper, Becky carried on along the path.