Minuteman

American  

[min-it-man] / ˈmɪn ɪtˌmæn /

noun

plural

Minutemen

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.

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Minuteman British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Minuteman

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

Example Sentences

Ed Bouquillon noticed more students from affluent families at Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in upscale Lexington as parents’ attitudes shifted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

And now it turns out, the Air Force, which has been running the program, says the Minuteman can be tweaked to last until 2050—for another quarter-century.

From Slate • Sep. 16, 2025

The Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is set to launch from the Santa Barbara County base sometime between 11:01 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2025

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 • Oct. 6, 2024

We more than doubled our acquisition rate of Polaris submarines—we doubled the production capacity for Minuteman missiles—and increased by 50 percent the number of manned bombers standing ready on a 15 minute alert.

From State of the Union Address by Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald)