Minutes I Ten Wait Short Time ˈmɪnɪt Back

• it's four minutes to six.
• four minutes past two
• five minutes after/before midnight
• i'll be back in a few minutes.

minute1

1. each of the 60 parts of an hour, that are equal to 60 seconds
• It's four minutes to six.
• four minutes past two
• five minutes after/before midnight
• I'll be back in a few minutes.
• Boil the rice for 20 minutes.
• The ship sank within minutes.
• The pump delivers seven gallons per minute.
• It's only a ten-minute bus ride into town.
• Two minutes later the phone rang.
• I enjoyed every minute of the party.
• The students took fifteen minutes to complete the questionnaire.
• Just minutes into the second half of the game Robinson scored his second goal.
• Eguchi scored two goals in the 87th minute.

Extra Examples

• It takes only a few minutes to grill this fish.
• He listened for a couple of minutes, then smiled.
• There were two goals in the opening five minutes of the game.
• After twenty minutes I started to get worried.
• Fifteen minutes turned into thirty, and still no one called.
• For ten agonizing minutes she couldn't find her son.
• Gina wasted ten precious minutes on her final test question.
• He scored in the final minutes of the game.
• I spent ten minutes dealing with emails.
• If you have a few spare minutes, you could clean the kitchen.
• Ten long minutes later, he finally had the results.
• The film starts in ten minutes.
• The minutes ticked by and still nothing happened.
• The noise lasted almost a full minute.
• Tracey was already counting the minutes until the weekend.
• We waited for ten minutes and then left.
• With each passing minute, the tension mounts.
• the minute hand on the clock
2. a very short time
• It only takes a minute to make a salad.
• Could you wait a minute, please?
• Hang on a minute—I'll just get my coat.
• I just have to finish this—I won't be a minute.
• Could I see you for a minute?
• I'll be with you in a minute, Jo.
• Typical English weather—one minute it's raining and the next minute the sun is shining.
• My brain was still working a mile a minute (= very fast).

Extra Examples

• Can you spare a minute?
• Do you have a minute, Miss Brown?
• This will only take a minute.
• One minute he was fine and the next minute he collapsed on the floor.
3. an exact moment in time
• SEE ALSO last-minute
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/last-minute
• At that very minute, Tom walked in.
• I've got things on my mind at the minute.
4. each of the 60 equal parts of a degree, used in measuring angles
• 37 degrees 30 minutes (37° 30′)
5. a summary or record of what is said or decided at a formal meeting
• We read through the minutes of the last meeting.
• Who is going to take the minutes (= write them)?
• I wrote up the minutes of the meeting and circulated them by email.
6. a short note on a subject, especially one that recommends a course of action
7. very soon
• Hurry up! He'll be back any minute now.
8. very fast
• Matters grew worse by the minute.
9. a short period of being famous
• Everybody wants their fifteen minutes of fame.
10. used to ask somebody to wait for a short time
• ‘Is Mr Burns available?’ ‘Just a second, please, I'll check.’
11. the latest possible time before an important event
• They changed the plans at the last minute.
• Don't leave your decision to the last moment.

Extra Examples

• Don't leave everything till the last minute.
• Why do you leave it until the last possible moment before getting ready to leave?
12. as soon as…
• I want to see him the minute he arrives.
• The minute she walked through the door I thought she looked different.
13. certainly not; not at all
• I don't think for a minute that she'll accept but you can ask her.
• I never thought for a minute he'd refuse.
14. used to say that somebody is very stupid
15. immediately; now
• Come down this minute!
• I don't know what I'm going to do yet—I've just this minute found out.
• Come here this minute!
16. exactly
• The train arrived at 9.05 to the minute.
17. fashionable and modern
• Her styles are always up to the minute.
18. having the latest information
• SEE ALSO up-to-the-minute
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/up-to-the-minute
• The traffic reports are up to the minute.
19. to wait for a short time
• Can you wait a second while I make a call?
• Hey! Wait a minute! I'll come with you!
20. used when you have just noticed or remembered something, or had a sudden idea
• Wait a minute—this isn't the right key.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin minuta, feminine (used as a noun) of minutus ‘made small’. The senses ‘period of sixty seconds’ and ‘sixtieth of a degree’ derive from medieval Latin pars minuta prima ‘first minute part’. The sense record of a meeting is from late Middle English (in the singular in the sense ‘note or memorandum’): from French minute, from the notion of a rough copy in “small writing” (Latin scriptura minuta) as distinct from the fair copy in book hand. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.