split-second
/ˌsplɪtˈsɛk(ə)nd/
"split-second" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“split-second” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stopwatch with two second hands, each of which may be stopped separately to time the intervals of a race by a sportsperson, or to time more than one sportsperson.
Corpus desk
Index EN-split-second · split-second · English
split-second · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | split-second |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsplɪtˈsɛk(ə)nd/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “split-second” in English
Rare enough to double-check
split-second is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsplɪtˈsɛk(ə)nd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
split-second has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From split (adjective) + second (noun), from split second(s) hands: see sense 1. The correct English form is split-second, spelled S-P-L-I-T---S-E-C-O-N-D.
Definition
- 1A stopwatch with two second hands, each of which may be stopped separately to time the intervals of a race by a sportsperson, or to time more than one sportsperson.
- 2A fraction of a second; hence (figurative, also attributive) a very short time period; an instant, a moment.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how split-second appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It's very dangerous, though, when a man thinks for a split second that he understands death.
I was in the gutter, sitting my bike, willing them to die, […] or otherwise obliterated because this demanded split-second timing.
Etymology
From split (adjective) + second (noun), from split second(s) hands: see sense 1.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.