sec
noun/sɛk/
1
Informal Second, ¹⁄₆₀ of a minute.
- It is not permissible to use abbreviations for unit symbols or unit names, such as sec (for either s or second), sq. mm (for either mm² or square millimetre), cc (for either cm³ or cubic centimetre), or mps (for either m/s or metre per second).2025 August 23, “The International System of Units (SI)”, in Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2025, page 147:
2
Abbreviation, Clipping, Colloquial Clipping of second (“short indeterminate period of time”).
- Wait a sec!
- And the sloping of the shoulder / From the slender shapely neck / Makes you long to come behind her and to hold her / Just a sec.1881 August 27, “In Church”, in Supplement to the Manchester Weekly Times, Manchester, England, page 8:
3
Government, Politics Abbreviation, Clipping, Colloquial, Especially Clipping of secretary.
- shadow sec
- Derived terms
- com sec, just a sec, ksec, seckill
- Related terms
- C-sec, demi-sec, triple sec