Dictionary

Abbreviation of minimal.

The lowest limit.

Example: We need a minimum of three staff members on duty at all time.

The smallest amount.

Example: He always tries to get away with doing the minimum.

A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).

Example: The Maunder minimum of the Sun reportedly corresponded to a period of great cold on Earth.

A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.

A unit of time equal to sixty seconds (one-sixtieth of an hour).

Example: You have twenty minutes to complete the test.

A short but unspecified time period.

Example: Wait a minute, I’m not ready yet!

A unit of angle equal to one-sixtieth of a degree.

Example: We need to be sure these maps are accurate to within one minute of arc.

(chiefly in the plural, minutes) A (usually formal) written record of a meeting or a part of a meeting.

Example: Let’s look at the minutes of last week’s meeting.