Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Moderately dry (of wines, especially champagne): Describes a wine, typically sparkling, that is not sweet but has a slight, crisp dryness.

2. Noun:

   • An independent federal agency: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates securities markets and protects investors.
   • A trigonometric function: In a right-angled triangle, the secant (sec) is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the adjacent side.
   • A unit of time: A second, equal to 1/60th of a minute, is the SI base unit for measuring time.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • We ordered a bottle of sec champagne to start the meal.
• Noun (Agency):
  • Public companies must file regular reports with the SEC.
• Noun (Trigonometry):
  • To solve the equation, you need to find the sec of the angle.
• Noun (Time):
  • The runner finished the race in just under ten seconds.

Advanced Usage

• "SEC filing": A formal document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • The company's annual report is available as an SEC filing.
• "Secant line": In geometry, a line that intersects a curve at two or more points.
  • The student drew a secant line to approximate the slope of the curve.

Variants and Related Words

• Secant (n): The full term for the trigonometric function, abbreviated as "sec."
• Second (n): The full term for the unit of time.
• Sec. (abbr.): A common written abbreviation for "second" (time) or "section."

Synonyms

• Adjective: Dry, brut (for champagne).
• Noun (Agency): Regulator, commission.
• Noun (Time): Moment, instant.

Related Phrases

• Wait a sec: An informal phrase meaning "wait a moment."
  • Wait a sec, I need to grab my keys.
• In a sec: An informal phrase meaning "very soon."
  • I'll be ready to leave in a sec.

Adjective

1. (of champagne) moderately dry

Noun

1. an independent federal agency that oversees the exchange of securities to protect investors
2. ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle
3. 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites