sec

Just a tick

Sec is informal for second, usually meaning a brief moment: Give me a sec, I'll be there in a sec.

The word appears almost exclusively in casual speech and texting.

In wine terminology, sec means dry, borrowed from French: a sec champagne. (All-caps SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission.)

dry

dry

Free from moisture

wineFermented grape beverage
champagneEffervescent celebratory wine
brutUnsweetened sparkling wine designation

sparkling · crisp · tart · unsweet · sommelier · palate · finish · grape · vintage

moment

instant

Briefest unit of time

jiffyInformal term for instant
tickParasitic eight-legged pest
flashBrief burst of light

blink · wink · moment · bit · shake · trice · jiff · wait · pause · hold on

Categories

abbreviationsMr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Jr
Adjectifsgrand, petit, beau, nouveau, long
patience phraseswait, hold on, just a minute, one moment, in a moment
momentsmoment, instant, flash, jiffy, tick
tastessweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami
trigonometrysine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, cotangent

Opposites

wine sweetness

Tasting of sugar

demi-sec · dessert wine · sugary · luscious · rich

time duration

Boundless temporal existence

forever · eon · age · long time · lifetime

Phrases

just a secondRequest for brief patience
one secondMomentary delay request
second thoughtsDoubts after deciding
second chanceRenewed opportunity after failure
split secondInfinitesimal unit of time
second natureDeeply ingrained tendency

Family

second, insect, section, sector, secondary, sectarian, sect, dissect, bisect

Familiarity: Top 100,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G