Definition of: pause

(pôz) v.i. paused, paus·ing
1. To cease action or utterance temporarily; stop; hesitate; delay.
2. To dwell or linger: with on or upon: to pause on a word. See synonyms under CEASE, STAND. [<noun]
—noun
1. A ceasing of action; an intermission; rest; stop.
2. A holding back because of doubt or irresolution; suspense; hesitation.
3. A momentary cessation in speaking or music for the sake of meaning or expression.
4. A character or sign indicating such cessation, as most marks of punctuation, a break, or a paragraph, or, in music, a hold or a rest.
5. A calculated interval of silence in a meter, or the place at which the voice naturally pauses in reading a verse. See CAESURA. See synonyms under RESPITE, REST¹. [<MF <L pausa a stop <Gk. pausis <pauein stop]
—paus′er noun