What does millisecond mean?
A millisecond is a unit of time equal to one thousandth of a second. It is used to measure intervals that are too brief for ordinary human perception or for the fractions of a second commonly used in conversation. The word is especially associated with computing, electronics, telecommunications, and scientific measurement, where response times and processing speeds may be counted in milliseconds. A modern computer can execute many millions or billions of operations within a single millisecond, making the unit useful for comparing the speed of hardware, software, and network systems. Although ‘millisecond’ is a precise technical term, it is familiar to general audiences through discussions of internet latency, gaming performance, and digital services. In everyday writing, it can also be used more broadly to emphasize the extreme rapidity of an action or response.
nounA unit of time equal to one thousandth of a second. It is commonly used to describe the duration of computer processing, electronic events, and other very brief intervals.
- A unit of time equal to one thousandth of a second, used particularly for very brief durations in computing, electronics, and technical measurement.
"The animation completed with a delay of only a few milliseconds."
"The sensor records the temperature in intervals of ten milliseconds."
"The two systems exchanged messages in less than fifty milliseconds."
The regular plural is 'milliseconds.'
"The system reduced the processing time to several milliseconds."
A millisecond is short enough to be nearly invisible, yet fast computer systems routinely perform billions of them every second.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does millisecond come from?
The word is a compound formed from the prefix milli- and the unit second. The prefix milli- comes from Latin mille, meaning 'thousand,' and is also the source of related units such as milligram, millilitre, and millennium. The combination with second reflects the unit's meaning as one thousandth of that larger time unit.
Related word forms
How millisecond is actually used
The term is formal and technical, though it is also widely understood in general discussions of computer performance and electronic response times. It is normally used with a numerical modifier, such as 'one millisecond,' 'several milliseconds,' or 'milliseconds per second.'
Easily confused with millisecond
A millisecond is one thousandth of a second, whereas a microsecond is one millionth of a second.