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Sec Common

Sec has 6 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Adjective · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites

"The camera's shutter speed was set to just over two sec, capturing the bird mid-flight."

2

ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

"When calculating the length of the ramp needed for the wheelchair access, I used the secant function because it represents the ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side in our right-angled triangle."

3

an independent federal agency that oversees the exchange of securities to protect investors

"The SEC recently issued a warning about the risks associated with unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges."

4

Second, ¹⁄₆₀ of a minute.

"The pilot announced that we would be landing in three seconds to avoid turbulence."

In plain English: Sec is an old-fashioned unit used to measure very small angles, like how many seconds of arc there are in a circle.

"The new security guard was checking every sec before locking the doors."

Usage: Use this noun to denote one-sixtieth of a minute when measuring time in fields like aviation or military operations where precision is critical. It functions as an uncountable quantity that typically appears with numbers rather than articles.

Adjective
1

(of champagne) moderately dry

"After tasting several options, he finally settled on a sec bottle that balanced sweetness and acidity perfectly for his dinner party."

Proper Noun
1

Initialism of Securities and Exchange Commission.

"The lawyer advised the client to file all required documents with the SEC before the deadline."

Example Sentences
"The new security guard was checking every sec before locking the doors." noun
"He forgot to include his social security number on the form." noun
"The officer asked for my second copy of the document at the counter." noun
"Please hand me that section from the manual so I can review it." noun
See Also
secondary champagne functional group secant secs csc moment
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
time unit trigonometric function independent agency
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
leap second

Origin

Derived from French, this abbreviation originates from the Latin saeculum, meaning an age or generation. It is commonly used to denote seconds in time measurements.

Rhyming Words
csec exsec cusec arcsec parsec witsec infosec montsec demi sec forinsec subparsec gigaparsec attoparsec kiloparsec teraparsec megaparsec decaparsec triple sec milliparsec microparsec
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