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Meaning & use

minute

noun, adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈmɪnɪt/
US/ˈmɪnɪt/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A unit of time lasting sixty seconds.

    Grammar: Counted like other nouns: five minutes.

    Patterns

    • in a minute
    • for a minute
    • a minute ago

    The bus leaves in ten minutes.

    Wait a minute while I find my keys.

    The movie starts in a minute.

  2. nouncountableinformal

    A very short moment of time.

    Grammar: Informal: just a minute means wait briefly.

    Patterns

    • just a minute
    • one minute

    I'll be back in a minute.

    Give me a minute to think.

    It only took a minute to fix.

  3. nounusually pluralformal

    A written record of what was said at a meeting, usually in the plural.

    Grammar: Take the minutes means write the record.

    Patterns

    • take the minutes
    • the minutes of a meeting

    She took the minutes at the board meeting.

    The minutes were emailed to everyone.

    Please read the minutes of the last session.

  4. adjectivenot comparableformal

    Extremely small, and so hard to notice.

    Grammar: Pronounced /maɪˈnjuːt/ and differs from the noun in stress.

    Patterns

    • a minute amount of something
    • in minute detail

    The sample contained a minute amount of dust.

    She studied the map in minute detail.

    A minute crack ran across the glass.

Word forms

pluralminutes

Common combinations

in a minute
I'll call you in a minute.
last-minute
They made a last-minute decision.
take the minutes
Who will take the minutes today?
wait a minute
Wait a minute, that isn't right.
in minute detail
He described the crime in minute detail.
minute amount
Only a minute amount of the drug was found.

Synonyms and how they differ

moment
Moment is an unspecific short time, while minute names an exact 60-second unit.
instant
Instant is even shorter and suggests something nearly immediate.
tiny
As an adjective, tiny is the everyday word, while minute is more formal and scientific.
microscopic
Microscopic is smaller still and means only visible through a microscope.

Opposites

hugevast

Word family

minuscule adjective
extremely tiny
minutely adverb
in great detail, or by a very small amount
minuteness noun
extreme smallness
minute hand noun
the longer hand on a clock

Commonly confused: minute or minuscule?

minute vs minuscule

Minuscule is a close synonym of the adjective minute, but it is a different word and is often misspelled as miniscule.

Practice

In which sentence is minute pronounced /maɪˈnjuːt/?

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