nanosecondn.
/ˈnanə(ʊ)ˌsɛknd/, U.S. /ˈnænoʊˌsɛk(ə)n(d)/ 1. Chiefly Science. One thousand-millionth of a second. Abbreviated ns.
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the world > time > period > a second > [noun] > specific part of
atomOE
third1595
millisecond1882
centisecond1905
microsecond1906
nanosecond1958
picosecond1962
1958 Science 18 July 158/3 Intervals in the nanosecond (10−9) range are said to be measurable.
1959 W. C. G. Ortel in IRE Trans. Electronic Computers 8 265 (heading) Nanosecond logic by amplitude modulation at X band. [Note] Although the term millimicrosecond has attained some currency, the metric system provides the standard prefix nano-, (abbreviated n-), by which the decimal multiplier 10−9 may be denoted conveniently without multiple prefixes.
1967 New Statesman 14 July 47/3 It takes a nanosecond for an electric signal to travel a foot.
1972 Sci. Amer. Jan. 121/1 Present atomic clocks keep time to better than 100 nanoseconds per day.
1982 Giant Bk. Electronics Projects iii. 126 Any logic transition which lasts at least 50 nanoseconds is detected.
2000 Nature 27 Apr. 919/9 IBM has achieved affordable MRAMs of about 1 kilobit capacity with access times of less than 3 nanoseconds.
2. hyperbolically. An extremely short period of time.
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1965 W. H. Auden About House (1966) 17 Translated in a nano-second To a c.c. of poisonous nothing In a giga-death.
1983 Judge Dredd Ann. 1984 28/2 Not a nano-second too soon.
1998 Chicago Tribune 23 Mar. i. 12/1 Money pours into emerging markets, then flees in nanoseconds for better returns elsewhere.
2000 New Republic 3 Apr. 14/2 I've seen governors come and go..and this one's attention span can be measured in nanoseconds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1958