minute
[noun]
moment, flash, instant, jiffy (informal), second, tick (Brit. informal), trice
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[adjective]
Synonyms:
- small, diminutive, infinitesimal, little, microscopic, miniature, minuscule, tiny
- precise, close, critical, detailed, exact, exhaustive, meticulous, painstaking, punctilious

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Contrasted words: abstract, general, universal, comprehending, comprehensive, embracing, embracive, including, inclusive
Related Words: careful, meticulous, punctilious, scrupulous

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English Thesaurus: small, little, low, slight, minor, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. min‧ute¹ S1 W1 /ˈmɪnət, ˈmɪnɪt/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Medieval Latin minuta, from pars minuta prima 'first small part, one sixtieth of a unit', from Latin minutus; ⇒ minute²]

1. TIME a unit for measuring time. There are 60 minutes in one hour:
It takes me ten minutes to walk to work.
The train arrived at four minutes past eight.
He returned a few minutes later.
I’ll meet you at the car in five minutes.
a one/two/three etc minute something
a ten minute bus ride

2. the last minute the last possible time, just before it is too late
at the last minute
He cancelled his trip to England at the last minute.
until the last minute
If you leave your essay until the last minute, you’ll almost certainly panic. ⇒ last-minute

3. by the minute (also every minute, minute by minute) used to say that something continues quickly becoming greater, stronger etc:
She was getting angrier by the minute.
His voice was getting stronger every minute.

4. love/enjoy/hate etc every minute (of something) informal if you love, enjoy etc every minute of an activity or experience, you love, enjoy etc all of it:
I went camping for a week and enjoyed every minute of it.

5. within minutes very soon after something has happened:
The ambulance was there within minutes.
within minutes of doing something
He had his car stolen within minutes of arriving at the office.

6. a minute a very short period of time Synonym : moment:
Sam thought for a minute, then smiled at his brother.
Can I have a word? It will only take a minute.


SPOKEN PHRASES

7. in a minute very soon:
Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.
Mr Gregson will be with you in a minute.

8. wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute
a) used 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) used 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.

9. (at) any minute (now) used to say that something will or may happen extremely soon:
We’re expecting them any minute now.

10. have you got a minute? British English, do you have a minute? American English used to ask someone if you may talk to them for a short time:
Have you got a minute? I need to ask you some questions.

11. the minute (that) somebody does something as soon as someone does something:
Tell him I need to see him the minute he arrives.

12. not think/believe etc for one minute used to say that you certainly do not think something, believe something etc:
I don’t think for one minute that he’ll do it but I have to ask.

13. this minute immediately:
Johnny! Get inside, this minute!
You don’t have to tell me right this minute.

14. the next minute immediately afterwards:
I put down the phone and the next minute it rang again.

15. one minute ... the next (minute) ... used to say that a situation suddenly changes:
One minute they’re madly in love and the next they’ve split up again.

16. MEETING minutes [plural] an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting:
Will you take the minutes (=write them down)?
minutes of
Has everyone seen the minutes of last month’s meeting?

17. MATHEMATICS technical one of the sixty parts into which a degree of an angle is divided. It can be shown as a symbol after a number. For example, 78° 52' means 78 degrees 52 minutes. ⇒ up-to-the-minute

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. mi‧nute² /maɪˈnjuːt $ -ˈnuːt/ adjective
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: minutus, from minuere 'to make smaller']

1. extremely small:
You only need a minute amount.
Her handwriting is minute.

2. paying careful attention to the smallest details Synonym : meticulous:
a minute examination of the rock
He explained the plan in minute detail.
—minutely adverb:
She studied the letter minutely.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. min‧ute³ /ˈmɪnət, ˈmɪnɪt/ verb [transitive]
especially British English to make an official note of something in the record of a meeting:
This discussion is off the record and should not be minuted.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

minute
noun
I. one sixtieth of an hour
VERB + MINUTE last, take
MINUTE + VERB pass, tick by The minutes ticked by and still nothing happened.
MINUTE + NOUN hand the minute hand on the clock
PREP. after … ~s After twenty minutes I started to get worried.
for … ~s We waited for ten minutes and then left.
in … ~s The film starts in ten minutes.
~s past four minutes past two
~s to ten minutes to three
 ⇒ Note at MEASURE

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

minute
II. moment
ADJ. last Don't leave everything till the last minute.
VERB + MINUTE hang on, hold on, wait Could you wait a minute, please?
have, spare Do you have a minute, Miss Brown? Can you spare a minute?
take This will only take a minute.
PREP. in a ~ I'll be with you in a minute.
within ~s The ship sank within minutes.
PHRASES just a minute, the minute sth happens Tell him I want to see him the minute he arrives.
not for a minute I never thought for a minute he'd refuse.
this minute Come here this minute!

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

minute
III. minutes: written record of what is said at a meeting
VERB + MINUTE keep, take Who's going to take the minutes?
circulate | read | agree, approve, sign | write up I wrote up the minutes of the meeting and circulated them by email.
PHRASES the minutes of a meeting
 ⇒ Special page at MEETING

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

minute
noun
1.
BAD: The train arrived at exactly twelve past three.
GOOD: The train arrived at exactly twelve minutes past three.

Usage Note:
When telling the time, minutes must be used after all numbers except
five, ten, twenty, and twenty-five .
Compare: 'It's twenty (minutes) past ten.' (minutes can be used) 'It's twenty-three minutes past ten.' (minutes must be used)

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2.
BAD: The college is a twenty minutes bus ride from my flat.
GOOD: The college is a twenty-minute bus ride from my flat.

Usage Note:
Using numbers
Day, month, minute, mile, kilo etc are always SINGULAR when used (with a number) immediately before a noun: ‘a six-minute wait’, ‘a ten-second silence’, ‘a five-mile race’.
My travel agent had arranged a 6-day coach tour.
The company provides a three-month training course.
Compare: ‘We waited for thirty minutes: ‘We had a thirty-minute wait.’
When you say 100, 1000 etc , or write these numbers in words, use a hundred, a thousand (WITH a ):
The palace was build a thousand years ago.
Compare: ‘The palace was built 1000 years ago.’
For emphasis or to be exact, it is possible to use one instead of a :
I am one hundred percent against the idea.
After a/one/five/twelve etc , the words hundred, thousand, etc are always SINGULAR and are NOT followed by of :
Five hundred children are born in the city every day.
More than three thousand people were there.
Similarly, of is NOT used after 100, 250, 3000 etc:
If you kill 200 whales a year, they will soon disappear.
Hundreds (of), thousands (of) etc are used only when you give a general idea of how many or how much: ‘There were hundreds of stars in the sky.’ ‘They’ve spent thousands (of pounds) on improvements to the house.’
Use and between hundred and the next number. (In American English, and is often omitted, especially in formal styles.)
BrE The club has about a hundred and thirty members.
AmE The club has about a hundred (and) thirty members.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

small not large in size, amount, or effect:
a small boat
small businesses
a small amount of money
small changes
little [usually before noun] small – used about objects, places, and living things. Used especially with other adjectives to show how you feel about someone or something:
It’s a very pretty little town.
The poor little dog has hurt its leg.
The cake was decorated with little flowers.
low used about prices, rents, levels, or standards:
People on low incomes are finding it difficult to pay fuel bills.
The crime rate in the area is relatively low.
slight [usually before noun] small and not very important or not very noticeable:
a slight problem
There’s been a slight improvement in his health.
a slight increase in sales
minor small and not important or not serious:
minor injuries
We’ve made some minor changes to the program.
compact small – used about places, buildings etc in which space is used effectively, or about phones, cameras, cars etc which are designed to be much smaller than usual:
The apartments are very compact.
a compact camera
It is a pleasant and compact city.
poky especially British English used about a room, house etc that is too small:
a poky bedroom
a poky flat
cramped used about a space, room, or vehicle that is too small because people do not have enough room to move around:
They all lived together in a cramped apartment.
The car feels cramped with four adults in it.
tiny very small – used about objects, numbers, or amounts:
a tiny island
Dairy foods provide your body with a tiny amount of vitamin D.
teeny informal very small - used for emphasis:
I'll just have a teeny bit of cream.
There's just one teeny little problem.
a teeny little house
minute extremely small and extremely difficult to see or notice:
They found minute traces of poison in his body.
The differences are minute.
minute creatures
miniature a miniature camera, watch, railway etc is made in a very small size. A miniature horse, dog etc is bred to be a very small size:
The spy used a miniature camera.
the fashion for miniature pets
microscopic extremely small and impossible to see without special equipment:
microscopic organisms
microscopic particles of dust
minuscule /ˈmɪnəskjuːl, ˈmɪnɪskjuːl/ extremely small in a surprising way:
She was wearing a minuscule bikini.
The threat from terrorism is minuscule compared to other risks in our lives.
itty-bitty/itsy-bitsy [only before noun] American English informal very small:
An itty-bitty little bug crawled across his forehead.
We stayed at some itty-bitty hotel in a back street.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

minute
the minute (that)
as soon as.
The minute I saw him, I knew something was wrong.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲