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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

hiatus

/haɪˈeɪtəs/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:41
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What does hiatus mean?

noun

  1. A gap in a series, making it incomplete.
  2. An interruption, break, pause or absence.
  3. An temporary break from work, especially one which is unexpected.
More meanings (3)

noun

  1. A gap in geological strata.
  2. An opening in an organ.
  3. A syllable break between two vowels, without an intervening consonant.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/haɪˈeɪtəs/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

This crevice, the hiatus of a gulf of mire, was called a fontis, in the special tongue.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135
If, however, the observer finds an inexplicable hiatus in an event he happens to notice, he finds it strange because unintelligible.
Hans GrossCriminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and StudentsTranslated by Horace Meyer KallenProject Gutenberg ebook #1320
More book examples (3)
She filled up the hiatus his silence left by a reply of her own.
Charlotte BrontëJane Eyre: An AutobiographyProject Gutenberg ebook #1260
I am very glad to hear what progress Bunbury is making in fossil Botany; there is a fine hiatus for him to fill up in this country.
Charles DarwinLife and Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1Project Gutenberg ebook #2087
A wide gap or hiatus appears between the first and second rings; and, under a thin membrane, the base of the ovipositor bulges out, bent back into a stout hook.
Jean-Henri FabreThe Mason-BeesTranslated by Alexander Teixeira de MattosProject Gutenberg ebook #2884