Meaning & use
minute detail
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Meanings
phrasecountable
A tiny fact or feature that is easy to overlook but is part of the whole picture.
Grammar: Countable: a minute detail, minute details. Minute here rhymes with 'cute'.
Patterns
- notice a minute detail
- every minute detail
The painter captured every minute detail of the old stone wall.
She remembered the minute details of the conversation weeks later.
A minute detail in the contract changed the whole deal.
phraseidiom
Very precise, thorough information, especially in the phrase 'in minute detail'.
Grammar: Often an adverbial phrase: explained in minute detail.
Patterns
- in minute detail
The guide described the battle in minute detail.
He planned the route in minute detail before leaving.
The report examines each risk in minute detail.
Word forms
| plural | minute details |
|---|
Common combinations
- in minute detail
- The author describes the town in minute detail.
- every minute detail
- The designer checked every minute detail.
- remember minute details
- Witnesses rarely remember minute details.
- obsess over minute details
- He obsesses over minute details.
- notice minute details
- She notices minute details others miss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fine detail
- Fine detail is a bit plainer and often about craft or artwork.
- technicality
- A technicality is a small formal point, often rules, rather than a visible feature.
- trifle
- Trifle suggests something unimportant, whereas a minute detail can matter.
- particular
- Particular is a formal word for a specific item of information.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: minute detail or minute (time)?
minute detail vs minute (time)
The time unit is pronounced MIN-it, but the adjective meaning tiny is pronounced my-NOOT.
Practice
In 'a minute detail', how is 'minute' pronounced and what does it mean?
Choose one answer.
The adjective minute rhymes with cute and means tiny. The time-unit pronunciation is different, and neither other option gives the right meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “minute detail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.