minute

I UK [ˈmɪnɪt] / US noun
Word forms "minute":
singular minute plural minutes
***

1) [countable] a period of 60 seconds. There are 60 minutes in one hour

I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.

We waited until twenty minutes to ten, then left.

Thompson scored again in the final minutes of the game.

a) a short period of time

It will only take a minute.

Carole spends every spare minute practising.

for a minute:

For a minute I thought she had left.

b) the distance that you can travel in a minute

The city centre is ten minutes away.

c) a moment or point in time

One minute he was there; the next he was gone.

any minute (= very soon):

Jack should be here any minute.

within minutes:

Within minutes I realized I was on the wrong train.

2) [countable] maths one of the 60 parts of a degree (= a unit used in the measurement of angles)

3)

a) minutes

[plural] an official written record of what is discussed or decided at a formal meeting

Shall we hear the minutes of the last meeting?

take the minutes (= write them):

Carl usually takes the minutes but he's not here tonight.

b) [countable] a short note or report about a particular subject

•

every minute (of something) — all of a period of time

I enjoyed every minute of our holiday in Spain.

hang on/hold on a minute — spoken used for asking someone to wait for a short period of time, especially someone who you are talking to on the telephone; spoken used when you are annoyed and want someone to stop what they are doing and listen

Hold on a minute! Why didn't anyone tell me about this?

not for a/one minute — used in negative statements for emphasizing what you are saying

Don't think for a minute that I'll forgive you for this!

I didn't believe her for one minute!

wait/just a minute — spoken used for asking someone to wait or be patient; spoken used when you are about to disagree with what someone has said

Just a minute, sir, and I'll take your order.

Wait a minute – that can't be right.

- by the minute

- every minute counts

- the last minute

- the minute you do something

- this minute

II UK [ˈmɪnɪt] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "minute":
present tense I/you/we/they minute he/she/it minutes present participle minuting past tense minuted past participle minuted

to record something in the minutes of a meeting or in a note

III UK [maɪˈnjuːt] / US [maɪˈnut] adjective
Word forms "minute":
adjective minute comparative minuter superlative minutest
**

1) very small

The soil contained minute quantities of uranium.

The chances of success were minute.

2) very careful and detailed

a minute examination of the evidence

in minute detail (= very carefully):

Our lawyer went over the contract in minute detail.

Derived word:
minuteness
noun uncountable