Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkəndz/

Definitions of seconds

noun a unit of time equal to 1/60th of a minute

Example Sentences

A1 I can count to sixty seconds.

A2 She timed herself running a mile in seven minutes and thirty seconds.

B1 The microwave beeps when the food is ready in just a few seconds.

B2 The athlete finished the race in a matter of seconds, breaking the world record.

C1 The scientist measured the reaction time in nanoseconds, down to the smallest fraction of a second.

C2 The astronaut experienced time dilation, perceiving seconds passing differently in space compared to on Earth.

adjective referring to the ordinal number two in a sequence

Example Sentences

A1 I can count to sixty seconds.

A2 She finished the race in just a few seconds.

B1 The microwave heats up food in seconds.

B2 The car accelerated from 0 to 60 miles per hour in a matter of seconds.

C1 He made a split-second decision that saved the company millions of dollars.

C2 The Olympic athlete broke the world record by mere seconds.

Examples of seconds in a Sentence

formal The runner finished the race in just under 10 seconds.

informal I'll be back in a few seconds, just grabbing something from my room.

slang Wait a few seconds, I'm almost done texting my friend.

figurative In the blink of an eye, the car disappeared within seconds.

Grammatical Forms of seconds

plural

seconds

comparative

more seconds

superlative

most seconds

present tense

second

future tense

will second

perfect tense

have seconded

continuous tense

is seconding

singular

second

positive degree

second

infinitive

to second

gerund

seconding

participle

seconded

Origin and Evolution of seconds

First Known Use: 1300 year
Language of Origin: Latin
Story behind the word: The word 'seconds' originated from the Latin word 'secundus', meaning 'following' or 'next'.
Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'seconds' evolved to refer to a unit of time measurement, specifically one-sixtieth of a minute. It is also used to describe the position in a sequence, as in 'second place'.