moment

Universal Words noun 1 a very short period of time: Could you wait a moment, please? * One moment, please (= Please wait a short time). * He thought for a moment before replying. * I'll be back in a moment. * We arrived not a moment too soon (= almost too late). * Moments later (= a very short time later), I heard a terrible crash. 2 [sing.] an exact point in time: We're busy at the moment (= now). * I agreed in a moment of weakness. * At that very moment, the phone rang. * From that moment on, she never felt really well again. 3 [C] a particular occasion; a time for doing sth: I haven't finished. I'm still waiting for a quiet moment. * I'm waiting for the right moment to tell him the bad news. * That was one of the happiest moments of my life. * Have I caught you at a bad moment? IDIOMS for the moment / present for now; for a short time: This house is big enough for the moment, but we'll have to move if we have children. have it's / your moments to have short times that are better, more interesting, etc. than others: I found the play rather boring, but it had its moments. the moment of truth a time when sb/sth is tested, or when important decisions are made: The moment of truth is when the trainee pilots take over the controls of the plane. of moment very important: matters of great moment of the moment (of a person, a job, an issue, etc.) famous, important and talked about a lot now: She's the fashion designer of the moment. moreatJUSTadv., LASTdet., MINUTEn., NOTICEn., PSYCHOLOGICAL, SPURn., WAITv.