Minute — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun adjective verb /ˈmi-nət/ (noun) /mī-ˈnüt/ (adjective) min·ute

Meaning & Definition of Minute

Minute (noun)

  1. the 60th part of an hour of time, 60 seconds
  2. the 60th part of a degree of angular measure
  3. the distance one can traverse in a minute

Minute (adjective)

  1. very small, infinitesimal
  2. of small importance, trifling
  3. marked by close attention to details

Minute (verb)

  1. to make notes or a brief summary of

Minute (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a very small space of time

    "I'll be with you in just a minute"

    similar: beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiff, jiffy, moment, nanosecond, New York minute, second, shake, split second, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink
    related: microsecond, snatch, spurt
    near: eon, age, eternity, forever, infinity, lifetime

Minute (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. including many small descriptive features

    "a minute description of the setting of the story"

    similar: blow-by-blow, circumstantial, detailed, elaborate, full, particular, particularized, thorough
    related: enumerated, inventoried, itemized, listed, numerated, delineated, specific, specified, abundant, copious, comprehensive, encyclopedic, exhausting, exhaustive, inclusionary, inclusive, in-depth, omnibus, panoramic, thoroughgoing, accurate, correct, exact, precise, complete, entire, replete, distinct, explicit, sharp, mapped (out), descriptive, graphic, picturesque, vivid
    opposite: compendious, summary
    near: brief, compact, concise, crisp, pithy, short, succinct, terse, abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut, pruned, shortened, trimmed, ambiguous, indeterminate, nebulous, nondescript, sketchy, vague, bird's-eye, broad, general, nonspecific, overall, unspecified

  2. lacking importance

    "a person who wastes her time on the most minute aspects of everyday life"

    similar: fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant, neither here nor there
    related: jerkwater, one-horse, nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown
    opposite: big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty
    near: decisive, fatal, fateful, chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, basic, essential, fundamental, key

  3. so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention

    "only minute differences between the two photographic prints"

    similar: chicken, de minimis, footling, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, measly, Mickey Mouse, negligible, niggling, no-account, nominal, paltry, peanut, petty, picayune, piddling, piddly, piffling, pimping, slight, trifling, trivial
    related: inferior, mean, imperceptible, inappreciable, little, puny, tiny, hairsplitting, nitpicking, pettifogging, quibbling, one-horse, small-fry, two-bit
    opposite: big, consequential, considerable, important, material, significant
    near: serious, substantial, weighty, eventful, momentous, pivotal, conspicuous, noteworthy, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, striking, appreciable, discernible, measurable

  4. made or done with extreme care and accuracy

    "a minute examination of the marine specimen"

    similar: delicate, exact, fine, finespun, hairline, hairsplitting, nice, nuanced, refined, subtle
    related: nitpicking, quibbling, frivolous, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, negligible, petty, piddling, trifling, trivial, demanding, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicking, finicky, fussy, meticulous, particular, picky
    opposite: coarse, inexact, rough
    near: apparent, clear, clear-cut, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable, broad, indefinite, careless, heedless, incautious, slapdash, slipshod, sloppy

  5. very small in size

    "made some minute adjustments to the controls"

    similar: atomic, bitsy, bitty, infinitesimal, itty-bitty, little bitty, microminiature, microscopic, miniature, minuscule, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny
    related: baby, diminutive, dwarf, elfin, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, micro, mini, minikin, model, petite, pocket, pocket-size, pygmy, small, smallish, dinky, dwarfish, insignificant, pint-size, puny, scrubby, undersized
    opposite: astronomical, colossal, cosmic, elephantine, enormous, giant, gigantic, herculean, heroic, huge, immense, mammoth, massive, monster, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, planetary, prodigious, titanic, tremendous
    near: big, bulky, bumper, considerable, extensive, good, goodly, grand, great, gross, handsome, hefty, hulking, jumbo, king-size, large, largish, major, outsize, overgrown, overscale, oversize, sizable, substantial, super, whacking, whopping, formidable, grandiose, imposing, lofty, majestic, monolithic, staggering, stupendous, towering, boundless, cavernous, immeasurable, infinite, vast, vasty, voluminous

Minute (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in chronicle, transcribe

    similar: chronicle, transcribe, jot (down), log, mark, note, put down, record, register, report, set down, take down, write down, enregister, enter, inscribe, chalk (up), notch, score

Related Entry: New York minute (noun)

New York minute is a different word from Minute. The synonyms below are for New York minute, not for minute.

  1. a very small space of time

    "in a New York minute she had signed the contract and was off on her first assignment"

    similar: beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiff, jiffy, minute, moment, nanosecond, second, shake, split second, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink
    related: microsecond, snatch, spurt
    near: eon, age, eternity, forever, infinity, lifetime

Related Entry: Up-to-the-minute (adjective)

Up-to-the-minute is a different word from Minute. The synonyms below are for up-to-the-minute, not for minute.

  1. being or involving the latest methods, concepts, information, or styles

    "the company insists on having up-to-the-minute firewall and antivirus software"

    similar: contemporary, current, designer, hot, mod, modern, modernistic, new, new age, new-fashioned, newfangled, present-day, red-hot, space-age, state-of-the-art, ultramodern, up-to-date
    related: fashionable, happening, in, modish, nouvelle, now, stylish, last, latest, modernized, updated, futuristic, high-tech, latter-day, recent
    opposite: antiquated, archaic, dated, fusty, musty, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, passé
    near: anachronistic, aged, age-old, ancient, antediluvian, hoary, old, venerable, bygone, former, late, olden, past, antique, historic, historical, retro, retrograde, kaput, obsolete, outmoded, outworn, unmodernized, old-world, discarded, disused, moth-eaten, forgotten, remote, ageless, dateless, timeless

Related Entry: Last minute (noun)

Last minute is a different word from Minute. The synonyms below are for last minute, not for minute.

  1. the last possible time when something can be done

    "You shouldn't wait until the last minute before planning your retirement."

    "They were making changes to the show right up to the last minute."

    similar: eleventh hour, boiling point, breaking point, clutch, conjuncture, crisis, crossroad(s), crunch, crunch time, Dunkirk, emergency, exigency, extremity, flash point, head, juncture, tinderbox, zero hour, contingency, possibility, climax, turning point, happening, landmark, milestone, condition, pass, situation, strait, deadlock, impasse, stalemate, corner, fix, hole, hot water, jam, last ditch, pinch, predicament, scrape, spot

Related Entry: A mile a minute (phrase)

A mile a minute is a different word from Minute. The synonyms below are for a mile a minute, not for minute.

  1. with great speed

    "She was typing at a mile a minute."

    similar: apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fast, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, hot, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, swift, swiftly, at full throttle, at full tilt, by leaps and bounds, in a hurry, in short order, like a shot, like gangbusters, like wildfire
    related: immediately, promptly, readily, impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly, abruptly, suddenly, energetically, vigorously
    opposite: slow, slowly
    near: laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, deliberately, leisurely, belatedly, delinquently, tardily

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Minute

The most common words with a similar meaning to Minute:

beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiff, jiffy, moment, nanosecond, New York minute, second, shake, split second, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink, blow-by-blow, circumstantial, detailed, elaborate, full, particular, particularized, thorough, fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Minute

Words with the opposite meaning of Minute:

compendious, summary, big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty, considerable, coarse, inexact, rough, astronomical, colossal, cosmic, elephantine, enormous, giant, gigantic, herculean, heroic, huge, immense, mammoth

Related Words for Minute

microsecond, snatch, spurt, enumerated, inventoried, itemized, listed, numerated, delineated, specific, specified, abundant, copious, comprehensive, encyclopedic, exhausting, exhaustive, inclusionary, inclusive, in-depth, omnibus, panoramic, thoroughgoing, accurate, correct, precise, complete, entire, replete, distinct

Near Antonyms of Minute

eon, age, eternity, forever, infinity, lifetime, brief, compact, concise, crisp, pithy, short, succinct, terse, abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut, pruned, shortened, trimmed, ambiguous, indeterminate, nebulous, nondescript, sketchy, vague, bird's-eye, broad, general

Word Forms of Minute

Inflections: minuter, minutest, minuted, minuting

Derived words: minuteness (noun)

Phrases & Idioms with Minute

  • the minute — as soon as

Origin & Etymology of Minute

Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin minuta, from Latin minutus small, from past participle of minuere to lessen minor

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Minute

Words & Phrases Containing Minute

minute hand, minute steak, minute by minute, a mile a minute, any minute, arc minute, from minute to minute

Frequently Asked Questions about Minute

What does "Minute" mean?

"Minute" means the 60th part of an hour of time, 60 seconds. As an a noun, an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: the 60th part of an hour of time, 60 seconds. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Minute"?

Other words for "Minute" include beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiff, jiffy and moment. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Minute" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Minute"?

There are 190 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Minute". Common alternatives include beat, eyeblink, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiff, jiffy, moment, nanosecond and New York minute.

What is the opposite of "Minute"?

Antonyms of "Minute" include compendious, summary, big, consequential, eventful, important, major and material. Near antonyms include eon, age, eternity and forever.

How do you use "Minute" in a sentence?

Examples of "Minute" in a sentence: "I'll be with you in just a minute"; "a minute description of the setting of the story"; "a person who wastes her time on the most minute aspects of everyday life".

Is "Minute" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Minute" can be used as a noun, an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Minute" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Minute" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Minute"?

"Minute" is pronounced /ˈmi-nət/ as a noun and /mī-ˈnüt/ as an adjective and divided into syllables as min·ute.