INSTANT


Meaning of INSTANT in English

(~s)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.

An ~ is an extremely short period of time.

For an ~, Catherine was tempted to flee...

The pain disappeared in an ~.

= moment

N-COUNT: usu sing

2.

If you say that something happens at a particular ~, you mean that it happens at exactly the time you have been referring to, and you are usually suggesting that it happens quickly or immediately.

At that ~ the museum was plunged into total darkness...

= moment

N-SING: with supp, usu at/in N

3.

To do something the ~ something else happens means to do it immediately.

I had bolted the door the ~ I had seen the bat.

PHRASE emphasis

4.

You use ~ to describe something that happens immediately.

He had taken an ~ dislike to Mortlake.

= immediate

ADJ: usu ADJ n

~ly

The man was killed ~ly...

ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj

5.

Instant food is food that you can prepare very quickly, for example by just adding water.

...~ coffee.

ADJ: ADJ n

Collins COBUILD.      Толковый словарь английского языка для изучающих язык Коллинз COBUILD (международная база данных языков Бирмингемского университета) .