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

The team hopes to automate this process by adding computer vision and AI systems that can analyze surroundings and adjust the material in real time.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Eastern time to ask MarketWatch’s Christine Ji and IBM’s vice president of AI Foundations, David Cox, your AI questions in real time.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

"It's always hard to be 100 percent, but we can detect more than 90 percent of what's happening in real time."

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Powell, speaking to students at Harvard University, laid out the textbook case for patience: Energy disruptions tend to be short-lived, and monetary policy works too slowly to counteract them in real time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

The thought of anything worse, the thought of doing real time in a real prison, I couldn’t even imagine.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah