hes‧i‧tate W3 / hezəteɪt, hezɪteɪt / 动词

1 [不及物动词] to pause before saying or doing something because you are nervous or not sure :

Kay hesitated for a moment and then said ‘yes’.

hesitate about/over

He was still hesitating over whether to leave or not.

2 don’t hesitate to do something used to tell someone that it is correct or right for them to do something and they do not have to worry about offending anyone :

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any more information.

— hesitatingly 副词

THESAURUS

pause to stop speaking or stop doing something for a very short time before starting again. Pause is used especially in written descriptions. In everyday spoken English, people usually just say stop : She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the clock. | He paused, waiting for Larry to say something.

hesitate to stop for a moment and wait before doing something, because you feel unsure or nervous about it : She hesitated for a moment before replying.

have/take a break to stop working for a short time in order to rest, eat etc : We’re all getting tired. Let’s take a break for ten minutes.

adjourn formal if a meeting or court adjourns or is adjourned, it stops for a short time : If there are no more questions, the committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning. | The trial was adjourned because one of the defendants was ill.

take five especially American English informal to stop for a short time in order to rest : Let’s take five and get some coffee.

break off to suddenly stop speaking, especially because you see, hear, or think of something : He broke off his conversation when he saw Mary running towards him. | She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’