minute

noun min·ute \ ˈmi-nət \

Updated on: 30 Nov 2017

Definition of minute

1 a : the 60th part of an hour of time : 60 seconds

b : the 60th part of a degree of angular measure

Its latitude is 41 degrees 55 minute north.

2 : the distance one can traverse in a minute

Five minutes down the road is a gas station.

3 : a short space of time : moment

Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes.

4 a : a brief note (as of summary or recommendation)

He received a minute of instructions.

b : memorandum, draft

sent the president a minute explaining the problem

c minutes plural : the official record of the proceedings of a meeting

The secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting.

See minute defined for English-language learners

See minute defined for kids

Examples of minute in a Sentence

Bake the cake for 25–30 minutes.
We waited for several minutes, but no one came to the door.
I saw him a minute ago.
Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes.
One minute it was sunny, the next it was pouring rain.
My house is just a few minutes from here.
The secretary read the minutes of the last meeting.

Recent Examples of minute from the Web

However, the Eagles got on the board less than two minutes later when a long corner was headed in by Rebeka Pasikazia.

— mobile athletics, AL.com, "No. 8 Mobile Women's Soccer Cruises Past Faulkner, 9-1, in the SSAC Tournament Quarterfinals," 4 Nov. 2017
The move was approved by Spain’s Senate minutes after the vote in the Catalan parliament.

— The Economist, "CataloniaThe man who wasn’t there," 2 Nov. 2017
The 53-year-old host of The Wendy Williams Show was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, but her costume got the best of her about 48 minutes into the program.

— kelly o'sullivan, Country Living, "Wendy Williams Passes Out During Live Episode of 'The Wendy Williams Show'," 31 Oct. 2017
Last week at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America here, two geophysicists argued that these minute changes could be enough to influence the timing of major earthquakes—and potentially help forecast them.

— paul voosen, Science | AAAS, "Sloshing of Earth’s core may spike major earthquakes," 30 Oct. 2017
Meanwhile, heat cider to a boil in small saucepan on high. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has reduced to 1⁄4 cup, 12 to 15 minutes.

— the good housekeeping test kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash with Cider Vinaigrette," 30 Oct. 2017
Barely a minute later, La Salle's Dan Hinton returned the favor with an interception of his own.

— adam baum, Cincinnati.com, "La Salle edges Elder in the final minute," 27 Oct. 2017
This is far from the first time fans have protested even minute departures from the book.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Outlander Star and Writers Clash Over Controversial Book Change," 25 Oct. 2017
While no doubt a lot of work went into the building of these robots, watching one knock the other one over very easily, in less than a minute, makes the entire thing seem comical.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Giant Robot Battles Are Here and They Are Hilariously Bad," 18 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'minute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of minute

Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin minuta, from Latin minutus small, from past participle of minuere to lessen — more at minor

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

minute Synonyms

Synonyms

beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, jiff, jiffy, instant, moment, nanosecond, New York minute, second, shake, split second, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink

Related Words

microsecond; snatch, spurt

Near Antonyms

aeon (or eon), age, eternity, forever; infinity, lifetime

Other Weights and Measures Terms

avoirdupois weight, calorie, denier, kip, pace, twain

minute

verb

Definition of minute

minuted; minuting

transitive verb

: to make notes or a brief summary of

Recent Examples of minute from the Web

These include various breathing and visualization exercises, and also work with eye positions—based on the theory that different emotions correlate to minute variations in the direction of gaze.

— matthew green, Newsweek, "A Radical New Therapy Could Treat the 'Untreatable' Victims of Trauma," 23 Mar. 2017
A 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer took first prize overall at the annual event, winning top honors for its owner’s dedication to minute details of authenticity and provenance.

— hannah elliott, Bloomberg.com, "Get Up Close and Personal With the World’s Top Classic Cars," 21 Aug. 2017
It wasn't meant to be followed on a day to day, minute to minute basis.

— danielle ofri, Slate Magazine, "Should Doctors Treat Trump Anxiety?," 19 Jan. 2017

Origin and Etymology of minute

see ¹minute

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1601

See Words from the same year

minute

adjective mi·nute \ mī-ˈnüt , mə- , -ˈnyüt \

Definition of minute

minuter; minutest

1 : very small : infinitesimal

2 : of small importance : trifling

3 : marked by close attention to details

—

minuteness

noun

See minute defined for English-language learners

Examples of minute in a Sentence

There were minute particles of dust in the air.
The test detected minute amounts of contamination.
The equipment is able to detect the minutest errors.
She told him what happened in minute detail.
a minute examination of the evidence

Recent Examples of minute from the Web

Typically these dots represent only minute changes in temperature — except for one.

— NBC News, "Cosmic 'Bruise' Could Be Evidence for Multiple Universes," 14 June 2017
To put Einstein to the test requires tracking orbits with extreme precision to tease out those minute differences.

— daniel clery, Science | AAAS, "Star hurtling towards massive black hole may seal deal for Einstein’s theory of general relativity," 9 Aug. 2017
He was well read, politically committed enough to have engaged in Civil Disobedience, and obviously steeped in the minutest changes in the world around him (the precise quality of the ice, the texture of the mud).

— bill mckibben, New Republic, "What Would Thoreau Think of Climate Change?," 12 July 2017
There’s a very, very minute number of people explicitly trying to vote in two states.

— gray rohrer, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Gov. Scott mum on Trump voter inquest as Democrats pounce," 30 June 2017
The NBA has taken no official position on the play, though it could be evaluated as part of the league's Last Two Minute report due out Thursday afternoon.

— joe noga, cleveland.com, "Should the NBA suspend LeBron James for kicking Andre Iguodala in the groin? The internet thinks so," 8 June 2017
TODAY’S WORD — CAPILLARY (CAPILLARY: KAP-ih-lair-ee: A minute blood vessel.)

— kathleen saxe, The Mercury News, "Word game: May 27, 2017," 27 May 2017
Minute droplets of fog condense in the tiny holes of the mesh, which glom together into drops large enough to drip down the fibers.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "This Device Collects Water From the Clouds," 29 Mar. 2017
This is, after all, the documentarian’s eternal quandary—how to find an orbit close enough for perfect, minute observation but also far enough to preclude any influence upon the scene.

— samanth subramanian, The New Yorker, "William Gedney’s Travels in India," 28 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of minute

Latin minutus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1606

See Words from the same year

minute Synonyms

Synonyms

blow-by-blow, circumstantial, elaborate, full, detailed, particular, particularized, thorough

Antonyms

compendious, summary

Related Words

enumerated, inventoried, itemized, listed, numerated; delineated, specific, specified; abundant, copious; comprehensive, encyclopedic, exhausting, exhaustive, inclusionary, inclusive, in-depth, omnibus, panoramic, thoroughgoing; accurate, correct, exact, precise; complete, entire, replete; distinct, explicit, sharp; mapped (out); descriptive, graphic (also graphical), picturesque, vivid

Near Antonyms

brief, compact, concise, crisp, pithy, short, succinct, terse; abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut, pruned, shortened, trimmed; ambiguous, indeterminate, nebulous, nondescript, sketchy, vague; bird's-eye, broad, general, nonspecific, overall, unspecified

Synonym Discussion of minute

small, little, diminutive, minute, tiny, miniature mean noticeably below average in size. small and little are often interchangeable, but small applies more to relative size determined by capacity, value, number.

- a relatively small backyard

little is more absolute in implication often carrying the idea of petiteness, pettiness, insignificance, or immaturity.

- your pathetic little smile

diminutive implies abnormal smallness.

- diminutive bonsai plants

minute implies extreme smallness.

- a minute amount of caffeine in the soda

tiny is an informal equivalent to minute.

- tiny cracks formed in the painting

miniature applies to an exactly proportioned reproduction on a very small scale.

- a dollhouse with miniature furnishings

circumstantial, minute, particular, detailed mean dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point. circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space.

- a circumstantial account of our visit

minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details.

- a minute examination of a fossil

particular implies a precise attention to every detail.

- a particular description of the scene of the crime

detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail.

- a detailed analysis of the event

MINUTE Defined for English Language Learners

minute

noun

Definition of minute for English Language Learners

: a unit of time equal to 60 seconds : one 60th of an hour
: a brief period of time
: the distance that can be traveled in a minute

minute

adjective

Definition of minute for English Language Learners

: very small
: very complete and precise

MINUTE Defined for Kids

minute

noun min·ute \ ˈmi-nət \

Definition of minute for Students

1 : a unit of time equal to 60 seconds : the 60th part of an hour

2 : moment 1

Can you wait a minute?

3 : one of 60 equal parts into which a degree can be divided for measuring angles

4 minutes plural : a brief record of what was said and done during a meeting

minute

adjective mi·nute \ mī-ˈnüt , mə- , -ˈnyüt \

Definition of minute for Students

minuter; minutest

1 : very small : tiny

minute particles of dust

2 : marked by or paying attention to small details

a minute description

—

minutely

adverb

He lifted the wand and examined it minutely …
—J. K. Rowling, Goblet of Fire

Headscratcher for minute

Depending on how you pronounce minute it has one of two different meanings. When the “u” is short, a minute is a short period of time made up of 60 seconds. When the “u” is long, minute means very tiny. Either way, it's something small.

Medical Dictionary

minute

noun min·ute \ ˈmin-ət \

medical Definition of minute

: a 60th part of an hour of time or of a degree

Law Dictionary

minute

noun min·ute \ ˈmi-nət \

legal Definition of minute

1 : a brief note (as of summary or recommendation)

2 : memorandum 1

3 plural : the official record of the proceedings of a meeting or court

Learn More about minute

See words that rhyme with minute Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for minute Spanish Central: Translation of minute Nglish: Translation of minute for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of minute for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about minute

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minute

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minute

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MINUTE Defined for English Language Learners

minute

Definition of minute for English Language Learners

minute

Definition of minute for English Language Learners

MINUTE Defined for Kids

minute

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minute

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minutely

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