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Synonyms

sec

1 American  

  1. secant.

  2. second.

  3. section.

SEC 2 American  
Or S.E.C.
U.S. Government.

  1. Securities and Exchange Commission: a board, consisting of five members, charged with regulating the public offer and sale of securities.

sec 3 American  
[sek] / sɛk /

noun

Informal.

  1. second.

sec 4 American  
[sek] / sɛk /

adjective

  1. (of wines) dry; not sweet.

sec. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. second.

  2. secondary.

  3. secretary.

  4. section.

  5. sector.

  6. according to.

sec 1 British  
/ sɛk /

noun

  1. informal short for second 2

    wait a sec
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sec 2 British  
/ sɛk /

adjective

  1. (of wines) dry

  2. (of champagne) of medium sweetness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
SEC 3 British  

abbreviation

  1. Securities and Exchange Commission

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sec. 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. second (of time)

  2. secondary

  3. secretary

  4. section

  5. sector

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sec 5 British  
/ sɛk /

abbreviation

  1. secant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sec Scientific  

  1. Abbreviation of secant

Etymology

Origin of sec1

First recorded in 1955–60; by shortening

Origin of sec1

From French, dating back to 1885–90; sack 3

Origin of sec.1

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.

We watched it meticulously fold T-shirts in about 90 secs, but its creator says it is getting faster all the time.

From BBC

The Trojans are 5-1 in a new era where even two-loss teams can qualify and, OK, just play along here for a sec.

From Los Angeles Times

That meant he reclaimed the yellow jersey from Ben Healy and more than doubled his time advantage over Vingegaard, his main rival for the general classification, who is now 3 mins 31 secs behind.

From BBC

I’ll get real with you for a sec — this show coming out.

From Los Angeles Times

High on confidence after running a personal best 6.49 secs to seal his breakthrough triumph in Dutch city Apeldoorn 13 days ago, he stated then that he was "coming to take it all".

From BBC

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.