Minuteman

[ min-it-man ]

noun

, plural Min·ute·men.

1. (sometimes lowercase) a member of a group of American militiamen just before and during the Revolutionary War who held themselves in readiness for instant military service.
2. a U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile with three stages, powered by solid-propellant rocket engines.
3. a member of a small, secret, ultraconservative organization formed into armed groups for the declared purpose of conducting guerrilla warfare against a communist invasion of the U.S.

Minuteman

/ ˈmɪnɪtˌmæn /

noun

1. sometimes not capital (in the War of American Independence) a colonial militiaman who promised to be ready to fight at one minute's notice
2. a US three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile

Word History and Origins

Origin of Minuteman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; minute ¹ + man

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, the current dispute in Congress about ICBMs has focused on whether it would be cheaper to build the cost-overrunning Sentinel system or upgrade the existing Minuteman III missiles.

From Salon

Next, Mike Watt, best known as the bassist for Southern California punk band the Minutemen in the early 1980s, plays with his new band, the Mike Watt Quartet ft.

From Los Angeles Times

Rat was doing sound at the club Safari Sam’s in Huntington Beach in the mid-1980s when the Minutemen were onstage.

From Los Angeles Times

Many of these efforts were created by a core group of conservatives on the city council, led by Alan Mansoor, who aligned himself with far-right militia group the Minuteman Project.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s one of three bases in the U.S. that operates and secures vast fields of Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

From Seattle Times