- a variation of around-the-clock.
round-the-clock
Americanadjective
adjective
Explanation
Use the adjective round-the-clock to mean always, at any time of day. A security company that uses round-the-clock surveillance is keeping an eye on things 24 hours a day. Round-the-clock flights to New York leave all day and all night long, and a diner that offers round-the-clock breakfast will serve you pancakes whether it's six in the morning or midnight. If a patient needs round-the-clock care in the hospital, they'll have nurses checking on them nonstop, day and night. Round-the-clock dates from the 1940s and was first used to describe air raids during World War II.
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.
Kuwaiti authorities have called on the public to consume less energy so that they can maintain round-the-clock electricity as the grid comes under Iranian attack.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
They know their cognition will continue to fade, and they might live for years in an agitated, delusional state where they’ll need round-the-clock care from people they don’t recognize.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
All 650 MPs would be provided with "round-the-clock protection" under a Reform UK government, according to Zia Yusuf.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Care is complex and demanding, and ideally requires a team of clinicians, therapists, a social worker, a care manager and round-the-clock aides—all of it difficult to organize and impossible to fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Ill health plagued Chopin throughout his life, and in his final three years he became so weak he needed round-the-clock care; TB finally killed him in 1849.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
