pause

pause

I

pause¹ W3 /pɔːz $ pɒːz/ verb
1. [intransitive] to stop speaking or doing something for a short time before starting again
    pause for
    She paused for a moment.
    He paused for breath, then continued up the hill.
    ‘No,’ he replied, without pausing for thought.
    pause to do something
    Joe paused to consider his answer.
2. [intransitive and transitive] to push a button on a tape player, CD player, computer etc in order to make a tape, CD etc stop playing for a short time
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adverbs
   ▪ briefly At the doorway she paused briefly.
   ▪ momentarily (=for a very short time) He paused momentarily, then knocked twice more.
   ▪ dramatically 'They have offered us a lot of money.' She paused dramatically.
■ phrases
   ▪ pause (for) a moment He paused for a moment, seemingly overcome by emotion.
   ▪ pause for breath She had to pause for breath after every two or three steps.
   ▪ pause for thought 'Of course,' she replied, without pausing for thought.
   ▪ pause for effect (=in order to make people eager to hear what you are going to say) 'Now I know what to do,' Brown said, pausing for effect.
   ▪ pause only to do something He paused only to make a few notes, and left.
     

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. | 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. | 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. | She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’

II

pause² noun [countable]1. a short time during which someone stops speaking or doing something before starting again:
    There was a pause while Alice changed the tape.
    After a long pause, she went on.
    pause in
    an awkward pause in the conversation
2. (also pause button) a control which allows you to stop a CD player, video recorder etc for a short time and start it again
3. a mark over a musical note, showing that the note is to be played or sung longer than usual
4. give somebody pause (for thought) to make someone stop and consider carefully what they are doing:
    an avoidable accident that should give us all pause for thought
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ a long pause There was a long pause before anyone spoke.
   ▪ a brief/short/slight pause "Well, that was a surprise," he said after a brief pause.
   ▪ a momentary pause (=very short) There was a momentary pause during which Mr Hammond glanced at his wife.
   ▪ an awkward pause After an awkward pause, Ray began to answer my question.
   ▪ a dramatic pause (=one that has a dramatic effect) In the dramatic pause before she replied, you could feel the tension in the room.
   ▪ a pregnant pause (=one that is full of meaning or emotion) ‘OK. Let’s move on,’ said the President after a pregnant pause.