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Synonyms

real world

American  
[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

noun

  • real worlds
    plural
  1. the realm of practical or actual experience, as opposed to the abstract, theoretical, or idealized sphere of the classroom, laboratory, etc..

    recent college graduates looking for jobs in the real world of rising unemployment.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of real world

First recorded in 1960–65


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.

See Examples For:

They begin seeing tiny human figures that appear to move through the real world, walking around objects, climbing over surfaces, and interacting with their surroundings.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

In the vending machine study, one agent determined that it could secure way better deals by accessing suppliers in the real world outside the experiment.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

The problem is that the training of robots is overly reliant on lab data, instead of data based on observation of people performing tasks in the real world, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

“But we figured out that you should go out in the real world since it’s hard to get realistic data in a lab environment.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

In the real world Hazel was an ordinary thing, a misshapen piece with no purpose.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

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