Hands, we hear, hesitate (5)
I believe the answer is:
pause
'hesitate' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'hands we hear' is the wordplay.
'hands' becomes 'paws' ('paw' can be a synonym of 'hand').
'we hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'paws' is a homophone of 'PAUSE'.
(Other definitions for pause that I've seen before include "Temporary interruption" , "Temporary cessation" , "Stop briefly, take ten" , "Temporary inactivity" , "Temporary stop or hesitation" .)