millisecond

noun

mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmi-lə-ˌse-kənd 

-kənt

: one thousandth of a second

Did you know?

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

The world could be equal for a millisecond and shifted. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 8 Mar. 2026

Kyle Felker, working with Tang, is developing systems that assign a disruption score within milliseconds. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Mar. 2026

The stakes in director Emily Blanquera’s relentlessly tense production, which do not let up for so much as a millisecond, start out high and range yet higher. —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026

Should the beat last a millisecond longer? —Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for millisecond

• femtosecond
• microsecond
• nanosecond
• picosecond
• beckoned
• reckoned
• second
• seconde

Kids Definition

millisecond

noun

mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmil-ə-ˌsek-ənd 

also -ənt

: one thousandth of a second

Medical Definition

millisecond

noun

mil·​li·​sec·​ond ˈmil-ə-ˌsek-ənd, -ənt 

: one thousandth of a second

—abbreviation ms, msec