Short break, we hear, for hands (4)
I believe the answer is:
paws
'hands' is the definition.
('paw' can be a synonym of 'hand')
'short break we hear' is the wordplay.
'short break' becomes 'pause' (I've seen this before).
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'pause' is a homophone of 'PAWS'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for paws that I've seen before include "Tom's feet" , "Feet of a quadruped" , "Parts of Cats" .)