Minutemen

[min-it-man] /ˈmɪn ɪtˌmæn/

noun, plural Minutemen.
1.
(sometimes lowercase) a member of a group of American militiamen just before and during the Revolutionary War who held themselves in readiness for instant military service.
2.
a U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile with three stages, powered by solid-propellant rocket engines.
3.
a member of a small, secret, ultraconservative organization formed into armed groups for the declared purpose of conducting guerrilla warfare against a communist invasion of the U.S.
/ˈmɪnɪtˌmæn/
noun (pl) -men
1.
(sometimes not capital) (in the War of American Independence) a colonial militiaman who promised to be ready to fight at one minute’s notice
2.
a US three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile
n.

U.S. history, one of a class of militia available for immediate service (i.e. “ready in a matter of minutes”), 1774. As the name of a type of ICBM, from 1961, so called because they could be launched with very little preparation.

Armed American civilians who were active in the Revolutionary War and in the period just preceding the war. They were named Minutemen because they were ready to fight alongside regular soldiers at a moment’s notice. The Minutemen of Massachusetts were especially well known. (See Battle of Lexington and Concord.)

Note: During the cold war, the name “Minuteman” was given to a United States missile held ready for launching in the event of a nuclear attack.

noun

: Youth gangs use minors as gun runners, calling them ”minutemen” because if they’re caught they’re out (of jail) in a minute (1990s+ Street gang)