Organism Function
diapause Audio
di·a·pause [ dahy-uh-pawz ]
Subclass of:
Life Cycle Stages
Definitions related to diapause:
  • A period of arrested growth or development in animals that is triggered by external conditions, such as length of day, extreme temperatures, or reduced food availability. It can occur at the embryonic, larval, pupal, or adult stage, depending on the species.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • State of inactivity or arrested development, as in many insect pupae and plant seeds, which allows the organism to survive adverse environmental conditions.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
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This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.