minute1
[min-it]
- the sixtieth part (1/60) of an hour; sixty seconds.
- an indefinitely short space of time: Wait a minute!
- an exact point in time; instant; moment: Come here this minute!
- minutes, the official record of the proceedings at a meeting of a society, committee, or other group.
- Chiefly British. a written summary, note, or memorandum.
- a rough draft, as of a document.
- Geometry. the sixtieth part of a degree of angular measure, often represented by the sign ′, as in 12° 10′, which is read as 12 degrees and 10 minutes.Compare angle1(def 1c).
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- to time exactly, as movements or speed.
- to make a draft of (a document or the like).
- to record in a memorandum; note down.
- to enter in the minutes of a meeting.
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- prepared in a very short time: minute pudding.
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- up to the minute, modern; up-to-date: The building design is up to the minute.
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Origin of minute1
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. jiffy, second. Minute, instant, moment refer to small amounts of time. A minute, properly denoting 60 seconds, is often used loosely for any very short space of time (and may be interchangeable with second ): I'll be there in just a minute. An instant is practically a point in time, with no duration, though it is also used to mean a perceptible amount of time: not an instant's delay. Moment denotes much the same as instant, though with a somewhat greater sense of duration (but somewhat less than minute ): It will only take a moment.
minute2
[mahy-noot, -nyoot, mi-]
- extremely small, as in size, amount, extent, or degree: minute differences.
- of minor importance; insignificant; trifling.
- attentive to or concerned with even the smallest details: a minute examination.
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Origin of minute2
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
1. large. 3. rough, general.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for minute
Contemporary Examples
Whatever happened overtook them both within a minute or so of that altitude change request, and they were never heard from again.
Could you talk a minute about the notion of being an unreliable narrator?
It probably only took a minute or two, although it felt like hours.
Less than a minute into her big break, Slate let slip a highly audible F-bomb instead of the scripted “freaking.”
A minute ago I was convinced this wasn't going to work, and now I can feel a script forming.
Historical Examples
He cries a minute, then forgets all about it, and grabs up something else to play with.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Losing a million a minute, even in sleep, he thought, was disquieting.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Nothing matters except that I've got this minute here with you.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
And that minute he turned me from a scared kid into an outlaw—a killer.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Andy heard, for his ears were sharpened: "I thought for a minute—But it does look like him!"
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
minute1
- a period of time equal to 60 seconds; one sixtieth of an hour
- Also called: minute of arc a unit of angular measure equal to one sixtieth of a degreeSymbol: ′
- any very short period of time; moment
- a short note or memorandum
- the distance that can be travelled in a minuteit's only two minutes away
- up to the minute (up-to-the-minute when prenominal) very latest or newest
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- to record in minutesto minute a meeting
- to time in terms of minutes
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See also minutes
Word Origin
C14: from Old French from Medieval Latin minūta, n. use of Latin minūtus minute ²
minute2
- very small; diminutive; tiny
- unimportant; petty
- precise or detaileda minute examination
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin minūtus, past participle of minuere to diminish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for minute
n.
"sixtieth part of an hour or degree," late 14c., from Old French minut (13c.) or directly from Medieval Latin minuta "minute, short note," from Latin minuta, noun use of fem. of minutus "small, minute" (see minute (adj.)). In Medieval Latin, pars minuta prima "first small part" was used by mathematician Ptolemy for one-sixtieth of a circle, later of an hour (next in order was secunda minuta, which became second (n.)). German Minute, Dutch minuut also are from French. Used vaguely for "short time" from late 14c. As a measure expressing distance (travel time) by 1886. Minute hand is attested from 1726.
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adj.
early 15c., "chopped small," from Latin minutus "little, small, minute," past participle of minuere "to lessen, diminish" (see minus). Meaning "very small in size or degree" is attested from 1620s. Related: Minutely; minuteness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
minute
[mĭn′ĭt]
- A unit of time equal to 160 of an hour or 60 seconds.♦ A sidereal minute is 160 of a sidereal hour, and a mean solar minute is 160 of a mean solar hour. See more at sidereal time solar time.
- A unit of angular measurement, such as longitude or right ascension, that is equal to 160 of a degree or 60 seconds.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with minute
minute
see at the last minute; every minute counts; just a minute; mile a minute; wait a minute.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.