WASHINGTON >> Don’t call it a pause.”

When the Federal Reserve meets next week, it is widely expected to leave interest rates alone — after 10 consecutive straight meetings in which it has jacked up its key rate to fight inflation.

But what otherwise might be seen as a “pause” will likely be characterized instead as a “skip.” The difference? A “pause” might suggest that the Fed may not raise its benchmark rate again. A “skip” implies that it probably will — just not now.

The purpose of suspending its rate hikes is to give the Fed’s policymakers time to look around and assess how much higher borrowing rates are slowing inflation. Calling next week’s decision a “skip” is also a way for Chair Jerome Powell to forge a consensus among an increasingly fractious committee of Fed policymakers.

— The Associated Press