nanosecond

/ˈnænəˌsɛkənd/
noun
  1. One billionth of a second; an extremely short unit of time.
    • In the world of high-speed trading, a nanosecond can mean the difference between profit and loss.
    • A computer processor can perform billions of operations in a single nanosecond.
    • The laser pulse lasted only a nanosecond, but it was powerful enough to cut through metal.
  2. A very brief moment; an instant.
    • Her smile vanished in a nanosecond when she heard the bad news.
    • He made the decision in a nanosecond and never looked back.
    • I hesitated for a nanosecond before jumping into the cold pool.
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