- 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.
In an illustration of the scale of destruction, Chinese state media said road access to hard-hit Gyirong Port in Tibet had only finally been restored on Wednesday after "days of round-the-clock repair work".
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Clean electricity that is available round-the-clock, such as geothermal, is considered especially valuable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Advocates of tokenization point to near-instant trade settlement and round-the-clock trading availability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But the grid is missing round-the-clock power to replace Diablo Canyon, said Conor Doyle, chief of strategic initiatives at PG&E, during a recent tour of the plant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 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.
