microsecond

American  

[mahy-kruh-sek-uhnd] / ˈmaɪ krəˌsɛk ənd /

noun

1. a unit of time equal to one millionth of a second. μsec

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microsecond British  

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌsɛkənd /

noun

1.  μs.  one millionth of a second

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microsecond Scientific  

/ mī′krō-sĕk′ənd /

1. A unit of time equal to one millionth (10 ^{- 6}) of a second.

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Etymology

Origin of microsecond

First recorded in 1905–10; micro- + second ²

Example Sentences

They are quick when they want to be, moving fast or leaping with incredible accuracy, or coming to a sudden stop and changing direction in a microsecond.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Then, he recalled, "they would play the points" in endless takes -- with or without the ball -- repeating choreography timed "down to the microsecond".

From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025

They’re executing millions of trades on microsecond timescales using signals derived from petabytes of data.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 15, 2025

It's an impressive feat, given that if the spoofing radar signals are even a microsecond off the mark, the fake datapoint would be misplaced by the length of a football field.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2024

He remains steady, his eyes faltering for only a microsecond.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Related Words

• blink of an eye
• millisecond
• nanosecond