real-time

¹ 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.

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real time ² American  

[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

noun

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.

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idioms

1. in real time, at once; instantaneously.

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

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real-time Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of real time

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Lara's reporting on the military and the defense industry has taken her around the world, with time spent covering geopolitics in real time in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

From The Wall Street Journal

As federal operations continue in Minnesota, video evidence has become central to how the public evaluates ICE activity, shaping national debate in real time and amplifying pressure on federal agencies to explain their actions.

From Salon

DaCosta grants us real time with Jimmy and his pack of young disciples he calls his “peeps,” his “Fingers” and his “Jimmies.”

From Los Angeles Times

It was to be a place of living theater, where events unfolded in real time.

From Los Angeles Times

So obsessed are the South Koreans with the cookie that someone even created a map that tracks shops selling the dessert, as well as their stock levels, in real time.

From BBC