pause

verb

1. (intransitive)To take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort.
2. (transitive)To stop (an activity) for a while.

   “The general public could therefore have been forgiven for thinking that work on the new station had stopped. But pausing work on an active construction site of this size is not straightforward.”

3. (intransitive)To interrupt an activity and wait.

   “When telling the scary story, he paused for effect.”

   “Tarry, pause a day or two.”

   “pausing a while thus to herself she mused”

   “She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough![…]What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’”

   “Will this affect HS2 and other major projects? [...] Work at the majority of sites has paused, although some staff may be present to ensure the safety and security of these sites and to make safety assessments. [...]”

4. (intransitive)To hesitate; to hold back; to delay.

   “Why doth the Jew pause? Take thy forfeiture.”

5. (transitive)To halt the play or playback of, temporarily, so that it can be resumed from the same point.

   “to pause a song, a video, or a computer game”

   “Press Start at any time to pause the game.”

6. (intransitive, obsolete)To consider; to reflect.

   “Take time to pause.”

noun

1. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.

   “If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.”

2. A short time for relaxing and doing something else.
3. (figuratively)Hesitation; suspense; doubt.

   “to take pause”

   “to give pause”

   “And like a man to double buſsines bound, / I ſtand in pauſe where I ſhall firſt beginne, […]”

   “The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, said on Sunday he would have “great pause” about granting a pardon or commutation to Ghislaine Maxwell while another House Republican said it should be considered as part of an effort to obtain more information about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.”

4. In writing and printing, a mark indicating the place and nature of an arrest of voice in reading; a punctuation mark.

   “Teach the pupil to mind the pauses.”

5. A break or paragraph in writing.

   “He [Paul] is full of the Matter he treats and writes with Warmth, which uſually neglects Method, and thoſe Partitions and Pauſes which Men educated in the Schools of Rhetoricians uſually obſerve.”

6. A sign indicating continuance of a note or rest.
7. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Pause (“a button that pauses or resumes something”).
8. A button whose functions are pausing and resuming something, such as a DVD player, a video game or a computer.

intj

1. (slang)Used immediately after a statement to indicate that there was no innuendo or homosexual meaning intended, especially when such a meaning is a reasonable interpretation.