sec
sec
2
American
[sek]
/ sɛk /
adjective
sec
3
American
[sek]
/ sɛk /
noun
Informal.
-
secs
plural
SEC
4
American
Or
S.E.C.
U.S. Government.
sec.
5
American
abbreviation
-
second.
-
secondary.
-
secretary.
-
section.
-
sector.
-
according to.
sec
1
British
/ sɛk /
abbreviation
sec
2
British
/ sɛk /
adjective
-
(of wines) dry
-
(of champagne) of medium sweetness
SEC
3
British
abbreviation
sec
4
British
/ sɛk /
noun
sec.
5
British
abbreviation
-
second (of time)
-
secondary
-
secretary
-
section
-
sector
sec
Scientific
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sec2
From French, dating back to 1885–90; see origin at sack 3
Origin of sec3
First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening
Origin of sec.5
From the Latin word secundum
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:
Hang on a sec, we imagine Karl saying, this connection is terrible.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
Unperturbed by the battle unfolding behind him, Marquez crossed the finish line in 40 min 09.249 sec.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
Back up for a sec: Koufax pitched a shutout in Game 5 on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024
Back to the courtroom for a sec: have you seen “JURY DUTY”? The TV sleeper hit sticks the landing.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
I played like I was thinking about it for a sec, rubbing on my chin and all that.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
Brighthouse said in a recent SEC filing that maintaining a captive reinsurer allows more flexibility in its portfolio and operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The SEC doesn’t wake up in the morning worried how the Patriot League is doing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference have not announced steps, though the SEC ripped the potential for pros back in college in a statement late Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Dave Nadig, the president of ETF.com, referred to the proposed NHL-team ETFs as “nonsense,” but told MarketWatch that the proposal by Volatility Shares to the SEC was “completely unsurprising,” in the current regulatory environment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
In its lower Manhattan office, the SEC met with them and listened, but politely.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Photographer’s description: “Cute, cute, cute … young barred owls cuddling in between feeding time. Canon EOS 7D Mark II camera, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens, 1/500 sec., f5.6, ISO 6400.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2021
Politico's Natasha Bertrand, on June 24, tweeted, "Barr will testify before House Judiciary on July 28th, per DOJ press sec. Nadler had been preparing a subpoena."
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2020
“Hold on a sec. How do you know about this? GoogleTime didn’t exist in 2018.”
From Nature ● Jan. 28, 2020
Glover’s piece was blasted on Twitter by constitutional scholars—here is a tweetstorm by Josh Chafetz—pointing out that “this proposal has a big Article I, sec. 5, cl. 3 problem.”
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2019
“Just a sec. I’ve got to get something,” I said.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
“Fam we were 1.1 secs away from being down thousands lol,” one defendant wrote in a group text to his alleged conspirators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
We watched it meticulously fold T-shirts in about 90 secs, but its creator says it is getting faster all the time.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
Having qualified fastest from the morning heats, Azu made a further statement by setting a European-leading time and then personal best 6.52 secs in the semi-finals.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025
That performance came one week after Williams lowered her best to 7.19 secs when winning the British indoor title for the first time.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
Whatever vagueness attaches to these definitions is intended to be removed by secs.
From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg
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.
