minute hand

American  

[min-it] / ˈmɪn ɪt /

noun

1. the hand that indicates the minutes on a clock or watch, usually longer than the hour hand.

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minute hand British  

/ ˈmɪnɪt /

noun

1. the pointer on a timepiece that indicates minutes, typically the longer hand of two Compare hour hand second hand

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Etymology

Origin of minute hand

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minute hand

Using the tip of a sharpened pencil, I delicately push the minute hand of the watch around in a circle, though the hour hand is unmovable, permanently pointing at 11 o’clock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2025

This hasn’t traditionally been the American way; here, more trains run at rush hour than at lunchtime, at random times that seem derived from engineers spinning the minute hand upstairs.

From Slate ● May 5, 2025

The 62-year-old also explained how the clock keeps its time during the year despite the forces of gravity on the minute hand.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024

Every year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists convenes a meeting to decide whether the minute hand of its famous Doomsday Clock will move forward, backward or stay put.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2023

The minute hand on the alarm clock reached the number twelve and, at that precise moment, the streetlamp outside the window went out.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling