minute Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
    min.
    • he ran a 4 minute mile
  2. noun an indefinitely short time
    moment; bit; mo; second.
    • wait just a moment
    • in a mo
    • it only takes a minute
    • in just a bit
  3. noun a particular point in time
    moment; instant; second.
    • the moment he arrived the party began
  4. noun a unit of angular distance equal to a 60th of a degree
    arcminute; minute of arc.
  5. noun a short note
    • the secretary keeps the minutes of the meeting
  6. noun distance measured by the time taken to cover it
    hour.
    • we live an hour from the airport
    • its just 10 minutes away
  7. adjective satellite infinitely or immeasurably small
    infinitesimal.
    • two minute whiplike threads of protoplasm
    • reduced to a microscopic scale
  8. adjective satellite characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination
    narrow.
    • a minute inspection of the grounds
    • a narrow scrutiny
    • an exact and minute report

WordNet

Min"ute noun
Etymology
LL. minuta a small portion, small coin, fr. L. minutus small: cf. F. minute. See 4th Minute.
Definitions
  1. The sixtieth part of an hour; sixty seconds. (Abbrev. m.; as, 4 h. 30 m.)
    Four minutes, that is to say, minutes of an hour. Chaucer.
  2. The sixtieth part of a degree; sixty seconds (Marked thus (`); as, 10° 20`.)
  3. A nautical or a geographic mile.
  4. A coin; a half farthing. Obs. Wyclif (Mark xii. 42)
  5. A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a tittle. Obs.
    Minutes and circumstances of his passion. Jer. Taylor.
  6. A point of time; a moment.
    I go this minute to attend the king. Dryden.
  7. The memorandum; a record; a note to preserve the memory of anything; as, to take minutes of a contract; to take minutes of a conversation or debate.
  8. (Arch.) A fixed part of a module. See Module. ✍ Different writers take as the minute one twelfth, one eighteenth, one thirtieth, or one sixtieth part of the module.
Min"ute adjective
Definitions
  1. Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.
Min"ute transitive verb
Etymology
imp. & p. p. Minuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Minuting.
Definitions
  1. To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.
    The Empress of Russia, with her own hand, minuted an edict for universal tolerance. Bancroft.
Mi*nute" adjective
Etymology
L. minutus, p. p. of minuere to lessen. See Minish, Minor, and cf. Menu, Minuet.
Definitions
  1. Very small; little; tiny; fine; slight; slender; inconsiderable. "Minute drops." Milton.
  2. Attentive to small things; paying attention to details; critical; particular; precise; as, a minute observer; minute observation. Syn. -- Little; diminutive; fine; critical; exact; circumstantial; particular; detailed. -- Minute, Circumstantial, Particular. A circumstantial account embraces all the leading events; a particular account includes each event and movement, though of but little importance; a minute account goes further still, and omits nothing as to person, time, place, adjuncts, etc.

Webster 1913