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
That's not a large gap, but every millisecond counts in the world of performance vehicles, and that's enough to earn the Owl Roadster major bragging rights.
—
New Atlas, 28 Nov. 2025
The system can also add a short delay of about 200 milliseconds between a participant’s movement and the physical response of their body.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Nov. 2025
Unlike fast radio bursts, which are millisecond-long flashes of light with dubious origins, a type II radio burst occurs over minutes, Callingham said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
When a ripple bug dips them into the water, surface tension causes stiff fronds at the ends to fan out in just 10 milliseconds, and the fans become oars.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for millisecond
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.
New Atlas, 28 Nov. 2025
The system can also add a short delay of about 200 milliseconds between a participant’s movement and the physical response of their body.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Nov. 2025
Unlike fast radio bursts, which are millisecond-long flashes of light with dubious origins, a type II radio burst occurs over minutes, Callingham said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
When a ripple bug dips them into the water, surface tension causes stiff fronds at the ends to fan out in just 10 milliseconds, and the fans become oars.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for millisecond
Cite this Entry
“Millisecond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/millisecond. Accessed 2 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share