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wait a minute

Idioms  
  1. Stop, I want to say something, as in Wait a minute—he wasn't there yesterday .

  2. What a surprise, as in Wait a minute! It was you who called the police? For a similar phrase, see hold everything .


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:

Then I thought, wait a minute, didn’t I buy something earlier this week?

From The Wall Street Journal May 25, 2026

And Marlee’s joking, ‘Hey, wait a minute, I’m the Oscar winner!’

From Los Angeles Times May 11, 2026

"Like, wait a minute, you didn't pay anything at all, and yet you still have complaints?" she said with a snicker.

From Barron's Feb. 26, 2026

"I thought, wait a minute, shopping has become the national pastime, and nobody has written about it," Kinsella said of her bestselling series.

From BBC Dec. 31, 2025

It would be so hard for him to recede into the background . . . 7TH JUROR: Now, wait a minute.

From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose

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