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IRL

American  

  1. in real life (in contrast with communication and interaction online or in a fictional situation).

    I play online video games with people I've never met IRL.
IRL British  

abbreviation

  1. text messaging in real life

  2. Ireland (international car registration)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of IRL

From its use in digital communications

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.

For the first time in a long time, IRL is winning out over AI, at least for the stock market.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

Hudson Williams and his IRL bestie Connor Storrie have secured appearances at the Golden Globes and the 2026 Winter Olympics, where they carried the torch of the ceremony and a brighter era of LGBTQ+ visibility.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Everything we need to understand about what happened IRL this year is explained by what happened online.

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2025

And so, while his siblings FaceTime with their IRL families, Joe finds himself on a British barstool — a pubstool — beside a bearded stranger in a red leather jacket.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025

I wanted to ridicule him for using chatspeak IRL, but I found myself lacking the energy.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

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.