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# sec

«sec» in Mova's school dictionary: **A very short time; short for "second": "wait a sec"** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a sec, secs) — informal; abbreviation sec (second, secretary, secant)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) A very short time; short for "second": "wait a sec". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#m1)

2) Abbreviation for second (of time): 30 sec. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#m2)

3) (maths, older pupils) Short for secant, a function of an angle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#m3)

4) Abbreviation for secretary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#m4)

5) Sec. is a short way of writing section, a numbered part of a book or law. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In real speech: "hang on a sec", "back in a sec". In science and sport timing: "she ran 100 m in 15 sec". Phrases: just a sec, in a sec, hang on a sec.

### examples

- Wait a sec, I'm coming! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x1)
- Hang on a sec, I need my coat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x2)
- The runner finished in 12.5 sec. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x3)
- I'll be back in a sec. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x4)
- The video is 45 sec long. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x5)
- Give me a sec to think. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x6)
- Benfey, Pantschatantra, Einleitung, Sec.201). [Footnote: It occurs in the same chapter as the story of La Perrette, which has been traced, after Benfey, by Prof. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/#x7)

### note

Informal in speech: "a sec" is not an exact time, just a short wait. As a unit it is exact: 60 sec = 1 minute. The usual short form in science is "s" (10 s).

### In the corpora

- ["Two secs" and "Irish time" are not real times at all.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «sec» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sec/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.