Diapause

//ˈdaɪəpɔːz// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A temporary pause in the growth and development of an organism due to adverse environmental conditions (especially in insects and in the embryos of many of the oviparous species of fish in the order Cyprinodontiformes) countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To undergo diapause. intransitive

Etymology

From Ancient Greek διάπαυσις (diápausis, “pause, cessation”). By surface analysis, dia- + -pause.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.