paused

/pɔːzd/

stopped temporarily

She paused to catch her breath.

She stopped briefly in order to breathe again.

general

stopped an action or movement for a short time before continuing

He paused at the door, unsure whether to enter.

He stopped briefly at the entrance because he was uncertain.

The movie paused during the ad break.

The video stopped playing while commercials aired.

Implies the action is likely to resume later.

Technology

technical

stopped a digital process or media playback temporarily

I paused the podcast to answer the phone.

I stopped the audio recording temporarily to take a call.

Common in computing and media contexts.

Collocations

pause for effectstop briefly to emphasize a pointpause for thoughtstop to think carefully

stop to breathe after exertion

Remember that 'paused' implies a break with the intention to continue. If the action ends, use 'stopped'.

If you can add 'for a moment' after the verb, 'paused' is likely the correct choice.

From Old French 'pauser', from Latin 'pausare' (to rest), from 'pausa' (rest, pause).

Use 'paused' when the stop is temporary and expected to end. Use 'stopped' if the action ends completely.

pause

rest or stop

root

-d

past tense marker

suffix

English Dictionary