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

Latency fell from 50 milliseconds to just 17 milliseconds, nearly instantaneous. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025

But those who prefer to cable can do so over HDMI – with 19-millisecond input latency on offer for console gamers. —New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2025

The contact-free system allows for millisecond-speed detection per garment. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 24 Sep. 2025

Ranging from milliseconds to hours, they’re associated with black hole formation. —Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 22 Sep. 2025

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