dead air vs pause

dead air and pause both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
dead air	Yes	No	No	No
pause	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, pause is a hypernym of dead air; that is, pause is a word with a broader meaning than dead air:

dead air: an inadvertent interruption in a broadcast during which there is no sound
pause: a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

Other hypernyms of dead air include break, intermission, interruption, suspension.

dead air (noun)	pause (noun)
an inadvertent interruption in a broadcast during which there is no sound	temporary inactivity
	a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

dead air (verb)	pause (verb)
	cease an action temporarily
	interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing