Jump to:

• real time
  real time

  noun

  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.
• real-time
  real-time

  adjective

  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.

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.

---

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.

---

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

---

real-time Cultural  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of real time

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Such insights can also be combined with data gathered elsewhere - including tiny GPS trackers physically attached to some hedgehogs to monitor their movements in real time.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Some people were working through their prejudices in real time and it’s amazing to watch them transform.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Stores are also altering prices in real time on the shelves with electronic labels that make it simple for prices to be changed remotely and instantly, based on other dynamic pricing models like peak times.

From Salon • May 18, 2026

With onboard artificial intelligence, spacecraft could respond to unexpected situations in real time when communication delays make human control impractical.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2026

This might suggest that the so-called imaginary time is really the real time, and that what we call real time is just a figment of our imaginations.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking