wait/just a minute

idiom

informal

—used to tell someone to wait or to stop for a brief time

"Aren't you finished yet?" "Just a minute. I'm almost done."

Wait a minute—I didn't hear you. Could you repeat what you said?

Wait just a minute, young man. Where do you think you're going?

—used to express surprise or disbelief

Hey, wait a minute! That's not what you said yesterday!

Examples of wait/just a minute in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

With just a minute left during the Tuesday, Jan. 28 basketball game between Saint Louis University and Virginia Commonwealth University, a brawl broke out between fans — delaying the game for a full seven minutes, the New York Post reported. —

Danielle Jennings, People.com, 29 Jan. 2025 Trump's staff tried to limit some calls to just a minute and asked that they be congratulatory in nature, not substantive. —

Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 18 Jan. 2025 With just a minute remaining in the second half and Radford leading by three, a young fan burst out onto the court and began running around as players and coaches watched in confusion. —

Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 17 Jan. 2025 Having someone here who can say, ‘Well, wait a minute. —

Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for wait/just a minute

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“Wait/just a minute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wait%2Fjust%20a%20minute. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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