Minute Meaning
/ˈmɪnɪt/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds).
nounA short but unspecified time period.
Sentence Examples
The station is a ten minute drive from here.
A minute has sixty seconds.
Minute amounts of chemicals in the water
CEFR Practice Quiz
The researcher examined a ____ detail that was barely visible to the naked eye.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please wait a ____ while I finish typing this final email, and then I will be ready to leave for the meeting with you.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English mynute, minute, mynet, from Old French minute, from Medieval Latin minūta (“60th of an hour; note”). Doublet of menu and menudo.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Total activity levels in the lowest quartile were equivalent to walking for 49 minutes at roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) per hour daily. Total activity levels in the second-, third- and fourth-highest quartiles were equivalent to 78, 105 and 160 minutes, respectively."
— 2024 November 15, Kristen Rogers, “Want to live an extra 5 to 10 years? Adopt this habit, study suggests”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jul 2025:
"The Clerk or 'recording Clerk' drafts a minute and then, or at a later time, reads it to the Meeting. Subsequent contributions are on the wording of the minute only, until it can be accepted by the Meeting. Once the minute is accepted, the Meeting moves on to the next item on the agenda."
— 2008, Pink Dandelion, The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction, page 52:
"Tell her, that I some Certainty may bring; / I go this minute to attend the king."
— 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe:
"[…]according to the Prophecies of him, which were so clear and descended to minutes and circumstances of his passion"
— 1660, Jeremy Taylor, “Of the Probable or Thinking Conscience.”, in Ductor Dubitantium, or, The Rule of Conscience in all her Generall Measures Serving as a Great Instrument for the Determination of Cases of Conscience, volume 1:
"“Man, I haven’t seen you in a minute,” he says, smiling still. “Maybe like two, three years ago?”"
— 2010, Kenneth Ring, Letters from Palestine, page 18:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The researcher examined a ____ detail that was barely visible to the naked eye.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please wait a ____ while I finish typing this final email, and then I will be ready to leave for the meeting with you.