noun | adjective
minuteminute1 /ˈmɪnɪt/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] 1
TIME a period of time equal to 60 seconds: The power went out for about 15 minutes. It takes me about ten minutes to walk to school.minute to/after It’s five minutes after two.a one-/two-/ten-/twenty-minute something a twenty-minute bus ride2last minute the last possible time, just before it is too late: There were a few last-minute changes to the program. Ellen got some extra tickets at the last minute. Many voters are waiting until the last minute to make a decision. → see also last-minute3love/enjoy/hate etc. every minute (of something) informal to love, enjoy, etc. all of something: “I hear John is in Alaska.” “Yes, and loving every minute of it.”4by the minute (also minute by minute) more and more as time passes: Medical technology changes almost by the minute.5within minutes very soon after something has happened: Police responded to the alarm within minutes.minute of We were met by our guide within minutes of our arrival.SPOKEN PHRASES6a minute a very short period of time SYN moment: Stay here a minute. Hold still. This won’t take a minute (=it won’t take very long). I just have to sit for a minute and rest.7in a minute a)very soon: Tell him we’ll be there in a minute. I have a meeting with Liz in a minute. Your waiter will be here in just a minute. b)used to say that you would do something without stopping to think about it: I would have married her in a minute.8wait/just a minute (also hold on a minute) a)used to tell someone you want him or her to wait for a short time while you do or say something else: Just a minute, Margaret, I want to introduce you to Betty. Wait a minute, let me see if I understand this correctly. b)used to tell someone to stop speaking or doing something for a short time because he or she has said or done something wrong: Hey, wait a minute, she wasn’t supposed to tell you.9any minute (now) used to say that something will happen extremely soon: Oh, they’re going to be here any minute!10do you have a minute? used to ask someone if you may talk to him or her for a short time: Do you have a minute? I have a couple of questions.11one minute a)used to say that a situation suddenly changes: How can you guys be so nice one minute, and then so mean the next? b)used to ask someone to wait for a short time while you do something else: One minute – I’ll put your call through.12the minute (that) somebody does something as soon as someone does something: Tell him I need to see him the minute he arrives.► see thesaurus at when213not think/believe etc. for one minute used to say that you certainly do not think something, believe something, etc.: I never for one minute thought he’d do it.14this minute right now SYN immediately: You don’t have to tell me right this minute. Go to your room this minute (=used when you are angry)! → see Word Choice at moment15every minute used to emphasize that something involves all of a particular period of time: I enjoyed every minute of it.16not a minute too soon if something happens or you do something not a minute too soon, it happens almost too late17the next minute immediately afterward: He was standing right next to me, and the next minute he was gone.18MEETING minutes [plural] an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting: The school board must keep minutes of these discussions. Who’s going to take the minutes (=write them down)?19MATH math, geometry one of the 60 parts into which a degree of angle is divided. It can be shown as a symbol after a number. For example, 78° 52' means 78 degrees 52 minutes.[Origin: 1300–1400 Old French, Medieval Latin minuta, from pars minuta prima first small part, one sixtieth of a unit] → see also up-to-the-minute noun | adjective
minuteminute2 /maɪˈnut/ ●○○ adjective 1extremely small SYN minuscule: minute living organisms The print was minute!► see thesaurus at small12paying careful attention to the smallest details: a minute examination of the surface He explained it all in minute detail.—minutely adverb—minuteness noun [uncountable]