Pause to look at a timer (9)
I believe the answer is:
stopwatch
'a timer' is the definition.
(I know that stopwatch is a type of timer)
'pause to look at' is the wordplay.
'pause' becomes 'stop'.
'to look at' becomes 'watch' (I've seen this before).
'stop'+'watch'='STOPWATCH'
(Other definitions for stopwatch that I've seen before include "Timepiece used in racing" , "Timepiece used to measure race results" , "Timepiece for exact timing" , "Timepiece for timing, a race perhaps" , "Timer for races, etc" .)