room temperature

American  

[room tem-per-uh-cher, -choor, -pruh-, -per-cher, room] / ˈrum ˈtɛm pər ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər, -prə-, -pər tʃər, ˈrʊm /

noun

1. a temperature at which food, drink, medicine, etc., is neither cooled nor heated.

   Unopened, our sauces can be stored at room temperature for months, but opened jars must be refrigerated.

   The cheeses are best served at room temperature.

2. any indoor temperature that falls within a range considered comfortable for human occupancy.

   We tested the strength of the bond at room temperature and at 140°F.

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room temperature British  

noun

1. the normal temperature of a living room, usually taken as being around 20°C

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Etymology

Origin of room temperature

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

The discovery may also help researchers move closer to one of the field's biggest goals: developing superconductors that work at much higher temperatures, potentially even room temperature.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

"They can do naturally well in usual room temperature, because they'll seek out those additional sources of heat, such as your fridge motors and your, sort of, your humid areas."

From BBC • May 28, 2026

His team developed a hybrid fruit, named Arka Sahan, which can survive for a week at room temperature and has fewer seeds and more pulp.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

And unlike the superconducting loops favored by International Business Machines and Google, which must be chilled to temperatures colder than deep space, photonic interconnects can operate at room temperature.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

The other, inoculated with the same mixture of strains, was left at room temperature.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee