"It's been a minute" meaning
"It's been a minute" is informal slang for "it's been a long time" (or at least a while). It says nothing about an actual minute: "Hey, it's been a minute! How have you been?"
Where it comes from
The phrase comes from Black American English, where it goes back at least to the 1970s. It spread into mainstream American speech in the early 2000s through college slang, music, film and TV. One likely root is "I'll be back in a minute", a promise to return soon that could cover a much longer absence; over time "a minute" came to mean an unspecified, often long, stretch.
How to use it
- "It's been a minute since I've been to the gym." (a long time)
- "Haven't seen you in a minute!" (in ages)
- "That movie came out a minute ago." (some time ago, not recently)
It's casual; in formal writing say "it has been a long time" instead.
Other "minute" phrases
- In a minute / just a minute: soon, shortly.
- Wait a minute: hold on; also signals surprise.
- At the last minute: just before a deadline.
- A New York minute: a very short time.
- Minute pronounced my-NOOT is a different word: tiny ("minute details").
The NPR show
It's Been a Minute is also an NPR podcast and radio show about culture and news, started in 2016 by Sam Sanders and hosted by Brittany Luse since 2023.
Want to know how long it has really been? Count it with the days ago calculator or the date calculator.
Questions people ask
What does it's been a minute mean?
It's been a long time. It's informal slang; it does not mean a literal minute.
Where did it's been a minute come from?
From Black American English, attested since at least the 1970s, and widely used in mainstream American English since the early 2000s.
How long is "a minute" in slang?
Anything from a while to many years; it is deliberately vague.
Sources
Related: words and idioms about time · "clock it" meaning · what is time?
Last updated October 21, 2026.