real time

¹ 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 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.

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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

For the first time, they were able to determine in real time and with a single measurement whether the combined quantum state formed by the two Majorana modes was even or odd.

From Science Daily

The sculpture highlights the hollowing out of a dream of unbridled growth as it happens, in real time, in our city.

From Los Angeles Times

That could include identifying people in real time in public spaces or evaluating criminal risk based on biometric data alone.

From Barron's

What once lived only in employees’ heads, built through years of experience and hard-won expertise, is increasingly being institutionalized in real time.

From The Wall Street Journal

Olympic skiers explain why many of them engage in a pre-race routine that includes visualizing the course in their mind as if they were skiing it in real time.

From Los Angeles Times