millisecond

noun

mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmi-lə-ˌse-kənd How to pronounce millisecond (audio)
-kənt
: one thousandth of a second

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A millisecond isn't long enough for the blink of an eye, but a few milliseconds may determine the winner of a swim race or a hundred-yard dash. With the ever-increasing speed of modern technology, even a millisecond has started to seem a little sluggish; computer operations are now measured in nanoseconds—that is, billionths of a second.

Examples of millisecond in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Then there are terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, or TGF, which are bright enough to see from space and are very fleeting, lasting less than a millisecond. Rudy Molinek, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Oct. 2024 That means Starlink can deliver download bandwidth in the hundreds of megabytes and, crucially, latency right down into the tens of milliseconds, rather than the half-second or more that geostationary satellites suffer from. Barry Collins, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 The muscle can close an eyelid in less than 100 milliseconds and reopen it in about 200 milliseconds. Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 27 July 2024 In Election Betting Markets After First Presidential Debate Algorithmic Trading AI trading systems can process market data in milliseconds, and execute trades based on complex algorithms. Sarath Babu Yalavarthi, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for millisecond 

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of millisecond was in 1909

Dictionary Entries Near millisecond

Cite this Entry

“Millisecond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millisecond. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

millisecond

noun
mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmil-ə-ˌsek-ənd How to pronounce millisecond (audio)
 also  -ənt
: one thousandth of a second

Medical Definition

millisecond

noun
mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmil-ə-ˌsek-ənd, -ənt How to pronounce millisecond (audio)
: one thousandth of a second
abbreviation ms, msec
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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