HOW TO PRONOUNCE
instant
/ˈɪnstənt/
Press play to hear how to pronounce instant.
American Pronunciation Guide · 0:55
Watch on YouTube ↗
Watch on YouTube ↗
What does instant mean?
noun
- A very short period of time; a moment.
- A single, usually precise, point in time.
- A beverage or food which has been pre-processed to reduce preparation time, especially instant coffee.
More meanings (11)
adjective
- Present; current; extant.
- Occurring immediately; immediate; present.
- Lasting for a short moment; momentary; short-lived.
- Very quickly and easily prepared.
- (dated) Impending; imminent.
- (dated) Urgent; pressing; acute.
- (dated) Insistent; persistent.
- (dated) Of the current month.
adverb
- At once; immediately.
noun
- instant camera
verb
- (obsolete) To urge, press (someone); to insist on, demand (something).
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈɪnstənt/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
She met his eyes for an instant, but was immediately constrained to give all her attention to the scene now going forward.
Then things happened with such amazing rapidity that I can scarce comprehend even now all that took place in that brief instant.
More book examples (3)
No—it was far away from that scene in an instant, and was busying itself with an ever-recurring and disagreeable dream of mine.
For an instant a wretched chill of sweat was upon him at the thought that he might be detected in the thing.
I have promised that someone should watch for him and give him instant notice if any new object should appear in sight.