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.
Round-the-clock news coverage and viral memes mean they are coming back to Earth significantly more famous than they were when they left.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Round-the-clock trading is a feature already familiar to crypto investors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
Round-the-clock repairs got the Santa Monica Freeway opened in less than three months — in what officials described as record time, giving L.A.’s quake recovery an important boost.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2023
Round-the-clock media coverage has been a fund-raising boon.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2023
Round-the-clock rescue operations were still taking place, the post said.
From Reuters • Apr. 1, 2022
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.
