pauses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pause.

   The speaker filled her awkward pauses with nervous laughter.

   Careful pauses in the music gave each phrase room to breathe.

   Note

   A regular plural that counts stops of every kind the singular covers: silences in speech, short breaks for rest, moments of hesitation, and the marks on a page or in a score that tell a reader or player where to hold. The same spelling serves the present-tense verb, and the grammar tells them apart: her pauses grew longer (noun) against she pauses before answering (verb).

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of pause.

   He pauses at the doorway whenever he hears his name called.

   The narrator pauses for effect just before revealing the twist.

   Note

   This form puts pause in the present tense after a singular subject, and it works both with and without an object. Without one, someone stops briefly or hesitates: he pauses at the doorway, she pauses for effect. With one, an activity is halted so it can be taken up again later, which is the playback sense: she pauses the video and resumes it from the same point.

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