[nan-uh-sek-uh
nd, ney-nuh-] 
| one billionth of a second. Abbreviation: ns, nsec |
| nan·o·sec·ond (nān'ə-sěk'ənd) n. Abbr. ns or nsec One billionth (10-9) of a second. |
A billionth of a second.
Note: The term is often used to refer to a very short time: “He missed having an accident by nanoseconds.”
| nanosecond (nān'ə-sěk'ənd) Pronunciation Key
One billionth (10-9) of a second. |
nanosecond unit
(ns) 10^-9 seconds; one thousand millionth part of a second.
This is the unit in which the fundamental logical operations of modern digital circuits are typically measured. For example, a microprocessor with a clock frequency of 100 megahertz will have a 10 nanosecond clock period.
(1996-11-15)