From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minutewait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minutea) WAITused to tell someone you want them 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) STOP DOING somethingused to tell someone to stop speaking or doing something for a short time because they have said or done something wrong Hold on a minute! That can’t be right. → minute