/min"it man'/ , n. , pl. Minutemen .
1. ( sometimes l.c. ) 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.
[ 1765-75, Amer.; MINUTE 1 + MAN 1 ]