three seconds
A quick countdown
Three seconds is a brief interval of time, often invoked to suggest something happens almost instantly or requires minimal duration.
In basketball, the three-second rule limits how long an offensive player can remain in the lane.
The three-second rule for dropped food—claiming it's still safe to eat if retrieved quickly—has no scientific basis but persists in folk wisdom.
- instantBriefest unit of time
- blink of an eyeExtremely brief duration
- momentBrief period of time
- just a momentRequest for brief patience
- briefShort in duration
countdown · shot clock · pause · heartbeat · blink · flash · quick · quick glance · timer · delay · hesitation · breath · deep breath · fleeting · snap · tick · wait · hang time
- basketball rulespersonal foul, technical foul, traveling, double dribble, carrying
- game callsfoul, offsides, offside, traveling, travel
- handballhandball, team handball, throw off, goal, throw in