millisecond
/ˈmɪlɪˌsɛkənd/noun
millisecond is spelled M-I-L-L-I-S-E-C-O-N-D: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, millisecond means “An SI unit of time equal to 10⁻³ seconds. Symbol: ms” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of millisecond is milliseconds.
How many letters and syllables are in millisecond?
| Letters | 11: M-I-L-L-I-S-E-C-O-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is millisecond?
Millisecond appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce millisecond?
- UK /ˈmɪlɪˌsɛkənd/
- US /ˈmɪlɪˌsɛkənd/
- US /ˈmɪləˌsɛkənd/
Millisecond has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-millisecond.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-millisecond.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of millisecond
- milliseconds plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does millisecond mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An SI unit of time equal to 10⁻³ seconds. Symbol: ms
Holonyms: centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond < hour < day < week < megasecond < fortnight < month < year < gigasecond < century < kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, meg
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Millisecond in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one one-thousandth of a second:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | milliseconde |
| German | Millisekunde |
| Portuguese | milissegundo |
| Spanish | milisegundo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does millisecond come from?
From milli- + second.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).