access time

American  

noun

Computers.

1. the elapsed time from the instant that information is called from a storage unit to the instant it is received.

2. the elapsed time from the instant that information is ready for storage to the instant it is stored.

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access time British  

noun

1. computing the time required to retrieve a piece of stored information

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Etymology

Origin of access time

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

The SafeTrack program has allowed more access time, therefore the amount spent now is approaching the amount budgeted.

From Washington Post

Flash Is Fast Flash has a much faster access time than hard disks.

From Forbes

Likewise, many enterprise storage systems only use a small portion of the available disk space they buy, storing data on the outer edges of disks reduces access time.

From Forbes

Flash has a much faster access time than hard disks.

From Forbes

But for much of the world's archived data, access time is not critical.

From Reuters