Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Latin
Origin: pausa, from Greek pausis, from pauein 'to stop'

pause

2 noun
     
NEW! See related topics: MUSIC
pause2 [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
3APM 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
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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