"I need to step away for a sec," in an IM

• Texter's "Just a sec"
• Texter's "I'm away for a moment"
• "Putting the phone down for a sec," in textspeak
• "Hold on a sec," while texting
• "Just a sec," in text-speak
• "Give me a sec," in texts
• Texter's "I will return shortly"
• "Just a minute," in texts
• "I'll return in a minute," in instant messaging shorthand

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
by 1996, Internet chat acronym for be right back .