Minutemen

Cultural  

1. Armed American civilians who were active in the Revolutionary War and in the period just preceding the war. They were named Minutemen because they were ready to fight alongside regular soldiers at a moment's notice. The Minutemen of Massachusetts were especially well known. (See Battle of Lexington and Concord.)

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During the cold war, the name “Minuteman” was given to a United States missile held ready for launching in the event of a nuclear attack.

Example Sentences

This year’s lineup on the stage includes Minutemen bassist Mike Watt, Jason DeVore of Authority Zero and a special set from Lindberg himself.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

The punk band Minutemen titled 1984’s “Double Nickels on the Dime” in response to “I Can’t Drive 55.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025

The Minutemen are 50 years old, and while they’ve been modified many times, they will probably need to be mothballed someday.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2024

Here are 10 essential tracks from Lockett’s scene-defining tenure at both SST and New Alliance, the label helmed by the Minutemen.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2023

And part of the idea was to make sure that Redding Tories wouldn’t be able to do to the Continentals what the Minutemen had done to the British at Concord and Lexington six months earlier.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier