delay vs pause

delay and pause both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
delay	Yes	No	Yes	No
pause	Yes	No	Yes	No

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

delay: time during which some action is awaited
pause: a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

Other hypernyms of delay include break, intermission, interruption, suspension.

As verbs, pause is a hyponym of delay; that is, pause is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than delay:

delay (noun)	pause (noun)
the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time	temporary inactivity
time during which some action is awaited	a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

delay (verb)	pause (verb)
cause to be slowed down or delayed	cease an action temporarily
stop or halt	interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
slow the growth or development of
act later than planned, scheduled, or required