minute hand

[ min-it ]

noun

1. the hand that indicates the minutes on a clock or watch, usually longer than the hour hand.

minute hand

/ ˈmɪnɪt /

noun

1. See second hand, hour hand
   the pointer on a timepiece that indicates minutes, typically the longer hand of two Compare hour hand second hand

Word History and Origins

Origin of minute hand¹

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

Transparent hour and minute hands allow the sun’s rays to reach an embedded solar panel that keeps the quartz movement ticking inside its injection-molded case.

From Outside Online

At the center of “Baltimore Self Portrait,” Ruth Lozner’s assemblage of junk and memories, is a vintage clock that lacks hour and minute hands but whose second hand circles resolutely.

From Washington Post

The minute-hand of the clock was already climbing upward towards eleven.

From Project Gutenberg

Apparently he found that the clock was too fast, for he walked over to it and turned the minute-hand back.

From Project Gutenberg

The minute-hand drags on as though it were weary with the day's work.

From Project Gutenberg

At fifteen minutes before twelve we stood noting the minute-hand of the watch, hoping a few minutes of prolonged life.

From Project Gutenberg

The movement of the minute-hand on the clock-face became uncanny and merciless to her eye in its deliberate regularity.

From Project Gutenberg