- 1 [countable] (abbreviation min.) each of the 60 parts of an hour, that are equal to 60 seconds It's four minutes to six. I'll be back in a few minutes. Boil the rice for 20 minutes. a ten-minute bus ride I enjoyed every minute of the party. Just minutes into the second half of the game Robinson scored his second goal. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclosing, final, opening, … verb + minutespend, last, take, … minute + verbelapse, pass, tick by, … minute + nounhand prepositionafter… minutes, for… minutes, in… minutes, … See full entry very short time
- 2 [singular] (informal) a very short time It only takes a minute to make a salad. Hang on a minute—I'll just get my coat. I just have to finish this—I won't be a minute. Could I see you for a minute? I'll be with you in a minute, Jo. Typical English weather—one minute it's raining and the next minute the sun is shining. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelast, next, spare, … verb + minutehang on, hold on, wait, … prepositionin a minute, within minutes phrasesevery waking minute, just a minute, the minute something happens, … See full entry exact moment
- 3 [singular] an exact moment in time At that very minute, Tom walked in. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelast, next, spare, … verb + minutehang on, hold on, wait, … prepositionin a minute, within minutes phrasesevery waking minute, just a minute, the minute something happens, … See full entry angles
- 4[countable] each of the 60 equal parts of a degree, used in measuring angles 37 degrees 30 minutes (37° 30′) record of meeting
- 5the minutes [plural] a summary or record of what is said or decided at a formal meeting We read through the minutes of the last meeting. Who is going to take the minutes (= write them)? Wordfindermeetingagenda, AGM, apology, brainstorming, breakout, the chair, committee, convene, meeting, the minutes Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + minuteskeep, take, circulate, … phrasesthe minutes of a meeting See full entry See related entries: Business meetings short note
- 6[countable] a short note on a subject, especially one that recommends a course of action Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from late Latin minuta, feminine (used as a noun) of minutus ‘made small’. The senses ‘period of sixty seconds’ and ‘sixtieth of a degree’ derive from medieval Latin pars minuta prima ‘first minute part’. The sense record of a meeting is from late Middle English (in the singular in the sense ‘note or memorandum’): from French minute, from the notion of a rough copy in “small writing” (Latin scriptura minuta) as distinct from the fair copy in book hand. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.Extra examples After twenty minutes I started to get worried. Can you spare a minute? Come here this minute! Could you wait a minute, please? Do you have a minute, Miss Brown? Don’t leave everything till the last minute. Fifteen minutes turned into thirty, and still no one called. For ten agonizing minutes she couldn’t find her son. Gina wasted ten precious minutes on her final test question. He scored in the final minutes of the game. I never thought for a minute he’d refuse. I spent ten minutes dealing with emails. I’ll be with you in a minute. If you have a few spare minutes, you could clean the kitchen. One minute he was fine and the next minute he collapsed on the floor. Tell him I want to see him the minute he arrives. Ten long minutes later, he finally had the results. The film starts in ten minutes. The minutes ticked by and still nothing happened. The noise lasted almost a full minute. The ship sank within minutes. They spend every waking minute together. This will only take a minute. Tracey was already counting the minutes until the weekend. We waited for ten minutes and then left. With each passing minute, the tension mounts. four minutes after/past two ten minutes to three the minute hand on the clock Hang on a minute—I’ll just get my coat. I just have to finish this—I won’t be a minute. I’ll be back in a few minutes. It’s four minutes to six. It’s only a ten-minute bus ride into town. Just minutes into the second half of the game Robinson scored his second goal. Typical English weather—one minute it’s raining and the next minute the sun is shining. Who’s going to take minutes? I wrote up the minutes of the meeting and circulated them by email.Idioms
- 1fashionable and modern Her styles are always up to the minute.
- 2having the latest information The traffic reports are up to the minute. see also up-to-the-minute
part of hour
very soon Hurry up! He'll be back any minute now.
(informal) used to ask somebody to wait for a short time ‘Is Mr Burns available?’ ‘Just a second, please, I'll check.’
the latest possible time before an important event They changed the plans at the last minute. Don't leave your decision to the last moment.
as soon as… I want to see him the minute he arrives. The minute she walked through the door I thought she looked different.
certainly not; not at all I don't think for a minute that she'll accept but you can ask her.
(saying) used to say that somebody is very stupid
immediately; now Come down this minute! I don't know what I'm going to do yet—I've just this minute found out.
exactly The train arrived at 9.05 to the minute.
Check pronunciation: minute
