What does instant mean?
Definitions for instant
ˈɪn stəntin·stant
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word instant.
Princeton's WordNet
blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink, New York minutenoun
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
"if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash"
moment, minute, second, instantadjective
a particular point in time
"the moment he arrived the party began"
instantaneous, instant(a)adjective
occurring with no delay
"relief was instantaneous"; "instant gratification"
instant, instadjective
in or of the present month
"your letter of the 10th inst"
clamant, crying, exigent, insistent, instantadjective
demanding attention
"clamant needs"; "a crying need"; "regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"- H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need"
GCIDE
Instantnoun
A point in time; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment; as, the situation may change in an instant.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
INSTANTadjective
Etymology: instant, Fr. instans, Latin.
And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. Luke xxiii. 23.
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. Rom. xii. 12.
Our good old friend bestow
Your needful counsel to our businesses,
Which crave the instant use. William Shakespeare, King Lear.Th' instant stroke of death denounc'd to day,
Remov'd far off. John Milton.Nor native country thou, nor friend shalt see;
Nor war hast thou to wage, nor year to come;
Impending death is thine, and instant doom. Matthew Prior.Instant without disturb they took alarm. John Milton.
Griev'd that a visitant so long should wait
Unmark'd, unhonour'd, at a monarch's gate;
Instant he flew with hospitable haste,
And the new friend with courteous air embrac'd. Alexander Pope.Instantnoun
1.Instant is such a part of duration wherein we perceive no succession. John Locke
Etymology: instant, French.
There is scarce an instant between their flourishing and their not being. Richard Hooker, b. v.
I can at any unseasonable instant of the night appoint her to look out at her lady's chamber window. William Shakespeare.
Her nimble body yet in time must move,
And not in instants through all places stride;
But she is nigh and far, beneath, above,
In point of time, which thought cannot divide. Davies.At any instant of time the moving atom is but in one single point of the line; therefore all but that one point is either future or past, and no other parts are co-existent or contemporary with it. Richard Bentley, Sermons.
On the twentieth instant it is my intention to erect a lion's head. Joseph Addison, Guard. №. 98.
ChatGPT
instant
An instant is a very brief moment or point in time. It refers to an exact and precise moment or period that is occurring or has already happened. In physics, "instant" can also refer to an infinitesimally small unit of time.
Webster Dictionary
Instantadjective
pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest
Instantadjective
closely pressing or impending in respect to time; not deferred; immediate; without delay
Instantadjective
present; current
Instantadverb
instantly
Instantadjective
a point in duration; a moment; a portion of time too short to be estimated; also, any particular moment
Instantadjective
a day of the present or current month; as, the sixth instant; -- an elliptical expression equivalent to the sixth of the month instant, i. e., the current month. See Instant, a., 3
Etymology: [L. instans, -antis, p. pr. of instare to stand upon, to press upon; pref. in- in, on + stare to stand: cf. F. instant. See Stand.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Instant
in′stant, adj. pressing, urgent: immediate: quick: without delay: present, current, as the passing month.—n. the present moment of time: any moment or point of time.—n. Instantanē′ity.—adj. Instantān′eous, done in an instant: momentary: occurring or acting at once: very quickly.—adv. Instantān′eously.—n. Instantān′eousness.—advs. Instan′ter, immediately; In′stantly, on the instant or moment: immediately: (Shak.) at the same time: (B.) importunately, zealously. [L. instans, -antis, pr.p. of instāre—in, upon, stāre, to stand.]
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'instant' in Adjectives Frequency: #925
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of instant in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of instant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of instant in a Sentence
Instant messaging is becoming a threat to telecoms companies -- and also for social media, we definitely expect this to become the case in more and more other regions of the world.
As a chef and a cook, I don’t feel good without a stock going. It’s one of my things, we make all our stocks at our restaurants. And I do it all the time at home for me and my wife, Gina. They’re the easiest thing in the world. I’ll roast a whole chicken, we’ll eat what we can, and the rest will go right into the Instant Pot. I did the same thing with the bones from a beef roast last night. I’m no doctor, but I know good food is good for your life.
Every month, I buy some instant tickets and send them as gifts to family members who have birthdays that month, it’s turned into a bit of a tradition, and now everyone sends me scratch offs and chocolate for my birthday.
Social media is key. It all starts with online presence and then you grow, on Instagram, it was instant. You would launch your page, people would start to like you, like your products and that started the sales process.
Pour water on a sportswriter -- instant horseshit.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for instant
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- لَحْظةArabic
- moment, instantní, okamžikCzech
- øjeblikDanish
- dieses Monats, dringend, Moment, fertig-, augenblicklich, vorübergehend, Augenblick, instant, bevorstehend, momentan, hujusGerman
- στιγμήGreek
- momentoEsperanto
- instante, momentoSpanish
- pika-, [[tämän]] [[kuun]], pikaruoka, hetkellinen, hetki, pikakahvi, välitön, kiireellinenFinnish
- instantané, instantFrench
- mòmaid, grad, priobadhScottish Gaelic
- רגעHebrew
- pillanatHungarian
- attimo, istante, immediatoItalian
- 瞬時の, 急ぎの, インスタント, 差し迫った, 即席の, 即席, 今月, 緊急の, インスタントの, 火急の, 切迫した, 瞬間, その場で決めたJapanese
- moment, ogenblikkelijk, ogenblik, kant-en-klaar, dringend, poosje, onmiddelijk, kortstondigDutch
- instantâneo, instante, instantâneaPortuguese
- instantRomanian
- мгнове́ние, моме́нт, предстоя́щий, безотлага́тельный, сро́чный, настоя́тельный, раствори́мый, неме́дленный, теку́щийRussian
- omedelbar, ögonblick, ögonblickligSwedish
- sasaSwahili
- உடனடிTamil
- an, hazırTurkish
- فوریUrdu
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"instant." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 13 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/instant>.
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