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:
Trafford made his England debut in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay in March but Pickford played every minute of the World Cup until the game against France, when Henderson started.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 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
With Joe Gomez forced off by injury in the eighth minute against Sunderland, and neither Jeremy Jacquet or Giovanni Leoni fit to play still, Liverpool have a problem at the heart of their defence.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Miura signed for Yokohama in 2005 but has not played a minute for them since 2020.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
I didn’t give myself another minute to question this decision, or a minute to acknowledge the sweat pouring from the palms of my hands.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Emergency crews can reach most bridges within five minutes -- the critical window to intervene and save a life, he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
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
Calcium-fortified sparkling water produced a decrease after 5 minutes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
I’ve scarcely made it home and past Mom’s regular “how was your swim” line of questioning when she texts three times in a span of two minutes.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
I began to learn things out of me; to see still stranger, and minuter differences.
From Pierre; or The Ambiguities by Melville, Herman
Nor need we doubt that even these living invisibles are beset with parasites vastly minuter than themselves, which feed and breed on their surfaces.
From Nature and Culture by Rice, Harvey
We may now examine the exchange “futures” in minuter detail.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 5 "Cosway" to "Coucy" by Various
She also perfectly understood the slight shades in our disposition and character, and by thus tracing the springs of action to their minuter sources, advanced with more certainty to the good ends of education.
From Olive Leaves Or, Sketches of Character by Sigourney, L. H. (Lydia Howard)
During morning news briefings, journalists quiz Sheinbaum about the minutest details of her latest chats with Trump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
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
It’s as if he had antennae that could feel the minutest vibrations across the political world.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
“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
He sought perfection at once in supreme love to God, and in the minutest details of character and conduct.
From Fletcher of Madeley by Macdonald, Frederic W.
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 supported it reluctantly and my concerns were minuted," he said.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2020
Lentils might cook in about 30 minuted, but nothing else does.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2016
Later, I typed up our meetings, minuted them, just like the old days.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 1, 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
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
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
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
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.
