minute
1 Americannoun
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the sixtieth part (1/60) of an hour; sixty seconds.
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an indefinitely short space of time.
Wait a minute!
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an exact point in time; instant; moment.
Come here this minute!
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minutes, the official record of the proceedings at a meeting of a society, committee, or other group.
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Chiefly British. a written summary, note, or memorandum.
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a rough draft, as of a document.
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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.
verb (used with object)
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to time exactly, as movements or speed.
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to make a draft of (a document or the like).
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to record in a memorandum; note down.
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to enter in the minutes of a meeting.
adjective
idioms
adjective
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extremely small, as in size, amount, extent, or degree.
minute differences.
- Synonyms:
- minuscule, infinitesimal, tiny
- Antonyms:
- large
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of minor importance; insignificant; trifling.
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attentive to or concerned with even the smallest details.
a minute examination.
noun
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a period of time equal to 60 seconds; one sixtieth of an hour
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Also called: minute of arc. ′. a unit of angular measure equal to one sixtieth of a degree
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any very short period of time; moment
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a short note or memorandum
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the distance that can be travelled in a minute
it's only two minutes away
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(up-to-the-minute when prenominal) very latest or newest
verb
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to record in minutes
to minute a meeting
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to time in terms of minutes
adjective
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very small; diminutive; tiny
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unimportant; petty
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precise or detailed
a minute examination
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A unit of time equal to 1/60 of an hour or 60 seconds.
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◆ A sidereal minute is 1/60 of a sidereal hour, and a mean solar minute is 1/60 of a mean solar hour.
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See more at sidereal time solar time
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A unit of angular measurement, such as longitude or right ascension, that is equal to 1/60 of a degree or 60 seconds.
Synonym Usage
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.
See little.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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minutesimple
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minutessimple
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have minutedperfect
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has minutedperfect
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am minutingprogressive
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are minutingprogressive
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is minutingprogressive
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have been minutingperfect progressive
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has been minutingperfect progressive
Past
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minutedsimple
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had minutedperfect
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was minutingprogressive
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were minutingprogressive
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had been minutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of minute1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, Middle French, from Medieval Latin minūta, noun use of feminine of minūtus minute 2
Origin of minute2
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin minūtus (past participle of minuere “to make smaller or fewer”), equivalent to minū- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix; see minus, minor
Explanation
Craftsmen can paint whole villages or detailed portraits of people on a grain of rice using minute, or tiny, paintbrushes. Often the works of art are so minute that you can only see them with a magnifying glass. Minutus is the Latin word for "small," and it gave rise to both the adjective minute (my-NOOT), or incredibly small, and the noun minute (MIN-it), or 60 seconds of time. Though they are pronounced differently, both words refer to small measurements. An object can be minute, like a flea compared with its dog, and less concrete things can be minute, like your minute chance of winning the lottery. A minute freckle on the side of your nose is a minute detail of your whole face.
Vocabulary lists containing minute
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He congratulated the team on their win, proclaimed that the people of Mayo had earned the victory and reminded them to "enjoy every minute".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
English football chose this trial as it follows the logic applied to outfield players, who must themselves leave the field for one minute if the physio comes on.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
There have been some concerns that a requirement to leave the field for one minute could lead to players, both goalkeepers and outfield, attempting to play on with an injury.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Leeds found themselves behind almost immediately when Kieffer Moore put Wrexham in front in the first minute with a left-foot shot.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
“I’m up to thirty-two words per minute with eighty percent accuracy.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The 17-year-old scored the first goal of Alonso's reign - and in spectacular fashion - after just six minutes.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
On its outbound flight, last week, from Toulouse to Melbourne, the test aircraft flew 17,000 kilometres in 19 hours and 12 minutes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
CIF rules that restrict tackling to two days per week and a maximum of 45 to 90 minutes a day were adopted in an effort to protect players from concussions and injuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The most noticeable change of Warsh’s first two months—one that required no task force or vote—surfaced when a senator used his five minutes of questioning to try, unsuccessfully, to pin Warsh down about his approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Then, about five minutes later, Arlo and some of his friends were running around and accidentally bumped the table.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Flyers in the race signed a last minute agreement to delay the start four days, to give opportunity for minuter mechanical overhauling, stricter sifting of entrants' abilities to fly.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even the minuter pleasures of settling a date, or classifying a title-page, were enjoyments to his incessant pen.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Disraeli, Isaac
But probably he means one of the minuter species.
From The Romance of Natural History, Second Series by Gosse, Philip Henry
The minuter verbal alterations are numerous, but many of them are only corrections of errors of the press.
From The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 New Edition by Pope, Alexander
Early in his illness the god instructed him to record its details, and he obeyed with zest, though in after years he was not always able to record the minuter points with complete clearness.
From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)
On top of that, the game is continuously stopped while phases of play are checked by VAR for even the minutest of incidents.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
But 26 minutest later, at 2:06 a.m., he reported that the ship “had begun to take a great inclination to the right side, and there was great upheaval and screams.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
“It is, in fact, his power of observation, his eye for the minutest detail, that sets him apart not only from most baseball writers but also from most writers, period.”
From Washington Post ● May 20, 2022
Our changes of attitude aren’t because we are anthropomorphizing our own longing onto them; every creature, from the minutest to the massive, wants to escape from pain and death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
He knew Gilbert's and Sullivan's ideas to the minutest detail, and, with all his love of the operas, he wanted those ideas carried through exactly on the stage.
From The Secrets of a Savoyard by Lytton, Henry A.
Changes have been made since Lord Mandelson's sacking, Sir Chris added, "so that we effectively replicate what would normally happen in a panel interview... where there is a minuted conversation with the candidate".
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
The Kraken seized advantage about six minuted later when Vince Dunn wound up at the left point and blistered a slap shot past Dan Vladar to tie things 1-1.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
I had to "stand aside" and have my objection minuted in the face of a sense of the meeting that it was proper to seek such funds.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2018
The newly minuted “I Dough, I Dough” ice cream has a fitting new label and updated packaging showcasing two cows wearing top hats with their tales intertwined to show solidarity and unity.
From MSNBC ● Jun. 27, 2015
He held almost daily conferences with Lord Granville at the foreign office; criticised and minuted despatches; contributed freely to the drafts.
From The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Vol 2 of 3) by Morley, John
He writes by hand, minuting correspondence he has seen with a letter "B" followed by the Roman numeral "XVI".
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2012
I dare say there was a vast amount of minuting, memoranduming, and despatch-boxing, on this mighty subject.
From Speeches: Literary and Social by Dickens, Charles
Hushed with broad sunlight lies the hill, And, minuting the long day's loss, The cedar's shadow, slow and still, Creeps o'er its dial of gray moss.
From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by Lowell, James Russell
Leaving to Anthony the irksome task of minuting down the roll of time for one unlucky month, turn we to another personage with whom it is high time the reader should be acquainted.
From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by Roby, John
However, he was resolved to stick to the Great Department; and so the work of form-filling, corresponding, minuting, memorandum-making, signing, counter-signing, counter-counter-signing, referring backwards and forwards, and referring sideways, crosswise, and zig-zag, recommenced.
From Little Dorrit by Dickens, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
