reaction time
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of reaction time
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While Singapore-based Sharpa already offers a convincing humanoid table tennis robot with a reaction time of just two hundredths of a second, there is no equivalent on the market for tennis.
From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026
“The reaction time, the way he’s able to change direction, the speed with which he accelerates, it’s different,” Fenton said.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025
Bumrah somehow gets his hand about 40cm ahead of his front foot, cutting the distance between himself and the batter, thus reducing the batter's reaction time.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2025
Obliviousness will seriously slow your reaction time, so during these times, window shades should be up and noise-canceling headphones and sleep masks set aside.
From Slate • Mar. 14, 2025
In a nutshell: Scientists believed that a human’s reaction time was immeasurably fast—infinite, as some scientists put it.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
