Jump To:

• real time
  real time

  noun

  the actual time elapsed in the performance of a computation by a computer, the result of the computation being required for the continuation of a physical process.
• real-time
  real-time

  adjective

  of or relating to applications in which the computer must respond as rapidly as required by the user or necessitated by the process being controlled.

real time

¹ American  

[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

noun

• real times
  plural

1. Computers. the actual time elapsed in the performance of a computation by a computer, the result of the computation being required for the continuation of a physical process.

2. the actual time during which a process takes place or an event occurs.

---

idioms

1. in real time, at once; instantaneously.

real-time ² American  

[ree-uhl-tahym, reel-] / ˈri əlˈtaɪm, ˈril- /

adjective

Computers.

1. of or relating to applications in which the computer must respond as rapidly as required by the user or necessitated by the process being controlled.

---

real-time British  

adjective

1. denoting or relating to a data-processing system in which a computer receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc, and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data

---

real-time Cultural  

1. A term used to describe computer systems that update information at the same rate as they receive data.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• real times
  plural

Etymology

Origin of real time

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

real time real-time

We were given rare access to an underground bunker in Kyiv, dubbed – appropriately enough – the "Iron Command Centre", where railway staff monitor threats in real time.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But these measures address only symptoms of the transformation of the university we are seeing in real time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

He senses the world changing in real time and doesn’t want to get left behind, lest his reporting and notoriety succumb to oblivion.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

The new live features include a new co-hosting function in which two creators can appear on the same stream together, and a live auto-dubbing tool that automatically translates speech in real time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Yet there is a big difference between the forward and backward directions of real time in ordinary life.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

The strategy allows for real-time responses from customers about the technology, which has allowed Palantir to improve its product development and sustain its lead over software competitors, Borges said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

He provided real-time updates to a Los Angeles-based Chinese consular official and sent photographs of individuals protesting both in support of and in opposition to Tsai, the Justice Department said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

And some real-time location data was slightly off—at times incorrectly showing one person ahead of another when he or she was actually behind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Realizing in real-time that they had walked straight into a trap, the senator’s team tried to bury the evidence and move on before anyone noticed.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

This VPN allows us to share the feed from the microphone, images from the session, the real-time script, and all the animation designs amongst all the locations with a simple log-in.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman