Meaning & use
menopause
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Meanings
noununcountablemedical
The time in a woman's life, usually around age fifty, when her monthly periods stop permanently and she can no longer become pregnant.
Grammar: Usually uncountable, and often with the in British English: she is going through the menopause.
Patterns
- go through the menopause
- reach menopause
- after menopause
She started to feel hot flashes as she approached the menopause.
Most women reach menopause between the ages of forty-five and fifty-five.
Doctors may recommend exercise and a balanced diet to ease the symptoms of menopause.
noununcountableinformal
The period of several years around this change, when hormone levels shift and symptoms such as night sweats can occur.
Grammar: Used loosely for the whole stage of life, not just the moment periods end.
Patterns
- symptoms of the menopause
Her mother talked openly about her menopause so that her daughters would know what to expect.
Many workplaces now offer support for staff going through the menopause.
Common combinations
- go through menopause
- Many women go through menopause in their early fifties.
- early menopause
- Some medical treatments can cause early menopause.
- symptoms of menopause
- Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause.
- hormone therapy for menopause
- She asked her doctor about hormone therapy for menopause.
- after menopause
- Bone density can drop after menopause.
Synonyms and how they differ
- change of life
- Change of life is an older, informal phrase for the same stage, while menopause is the standard medical term.
- the change
- The change is a vague, polite expression used in casual talk, but menopause is clearer and more neutral.
Opposites
Word family
- menopausal adjective
- relating to or going through menopause
- perimenopause noun
- the years leading up to menopause
- postmenopausal adjective
- occurring after menopause
- premenopausal adjective
- before menopause
Commonly confused: menopause or menstruation?
menopause vs menstruation
Menstruation is the monthly bleeding that happens throughout fertile years. Menopause is when it ends for good.
Practice
After ___, a woman no longer has monthly periods.
Choose one answer.
Menopause is the end of periods. Puberty is when they begin, and ovulation and pregnancy are part of the fertile years.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “menopause”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.