minute1
noun /ˈmɪnɪt/
/ˈmɪnɪt/
Idioms - [countable](abbreviation min.)each of the 60 parts of an hour, that are equal to 60 seconds
- minutes to… It's four minutes to six.
- minutes past… four minutes past two
- minutes after/before… five minutes after/before midnight
- in… minutes I'll be back in a few minutes.
- for… minutes Boil the rice for 20 minutes.
- within minutes The ship sank within minutes.
- per minute 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 ExamplesTopics Timea1- 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
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- closing
- final
- opening
- …
- spend
- last
- take
- …
- elapse
- pass
- tick by
- …
- hand
- after… minutes
- for… minutes
- in… minutes
- …
- [singular] (informal) 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.
- for a minute Could I see you for a minute?
- in 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.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- last
- next
- spare
- …
- hang on
- hold on
- wait
- …
- in a minute
- within minutes
- every waking minute
- just a minute
- the minute something happens
- …
- [singular] an exact moment in time
- at that/the minute At that very minute, Tom walked in.
- I've got things on my mind at the minute.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- last
- next
- spare
- …
- hang on
- hold on
- wait
- …
- in a minute
- within minutes
- every waking minute
- just a minute
- the minute something happens
- …
- [countable] each of the 60 equal parts of a degree, used in measuring angles
- 37 degrees 30 minutes (37° 30′)
- the minutes[plural] 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.
WordfinderTopics Working lifec2- agenda
- AGM
- apology
- brainstorming
- breakout
- the chair
- committee
- convene
- meeting
- the minutes
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + minutes- keep
- take
- circulate
- …
- the minutes of a meeting
- [countable] a short note on a subject, especially one that recommends a course of action
part of hour
very short time
exact moment
angles
record of meeting
short note
Word Originlate 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.
Idioms
(at) any minute (now)
- very soon
- Hurry up! He'll be back any minute now.
by the minute
- very fast
- Matters grew worse by the minute.
fifteen minutes of fame
- a short period of being famous
- Everybody wants their fifteen minutes of fame.
just a minute/moment/second
- (informal) used to ask somebody to wait for a short time
- ‘Is Mr Burns available?’ ‘Just a second, please, I'll check.’
the last minute/moment
- 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?
the minute (that)…
- as soon as…
- I want to see him the minute he arrives.
- The minute she walked through the door I thought she looked different.
not for a/one minute
- 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.
there’s one born every minute
- (saying) used to say that somebody is very stupid
this minute
- 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!
to the minute
- exactly
- The train arrived at 9.05 to the minute.
up to the minute (informal)
- fashionable and modern
- Her styles are always up to the minute.
- having the latest information
- The traffic reports are up to the minute.
wait a minute/moment/second
- 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!
- used when you have just noticed or remembered something, or had a sudden idea
- Wait a minute—this isn't the right key.