the time in a woman's life in which the menstrual cycle ends
"After reaching menopause, Sarah noticed that her monthly periods had completely stopped."
The period in a woman's life when menstruation becomes irregular and less frequent before eventually stopping altogether, usually accompanied by a range of unpleasant symptoms; the period spanning perimenopause up to postmenopause.
"After going through menopause at age fifty, Sarah experienced hot flashes and night sweats for several months before her periods finally stopped completely."
In plain English: Menopause is when a woman's body stops producing enough hormones to have her period anymore and she can no longer get pregnant naturally.
"Many women feel tired and irritable during menopause."
Usage: Avoid using "menopause" to refer to the entire post-reproductive phase; instead, use "postmenopausal" for that later stage. Do not confuse it with "perimenopause," which describes the transitional period leading up to the final menstrual cycle.
The word menopause comes from the French ménopause and ultimately from Latin menopausis, which combines Ancient Greek words for "month" and "pause." It entered English in the 19th century to describe the natural cessation of menstruation.