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.
One key difference: Perpetual futures offer round-the-clock trading seven days a week and settlement at regular intervals.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
She met with Sheinbaum, who deployed to Uruapan the thousands of soldiers Manzo had asked for, and who assigned Quiroz round-the-clock protection.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
AI chatbots such as Text With Jesus offer round-the-clock spiritual guidance and simulated conversations with anyone from Jesus to the apostles—and even Satan, with a premium subscription.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Starting in the 1980s, CNN redefined how breaking news is covered on television, with round-the-clock updates and live reports during major events like the first Iraq war in 1990, the O.J.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
For her, the years from 1938 to 1941 were a time of “exciting, round-the-clock adventures, as we counter-spied into the minds and activities of the agents attempting to spy into those of the United States.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
