- 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.
Many FBI agents have told us the immediate aftermath of 9/11 was a round-the-clock frenzy.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
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
Advocates of tokenization point to near-instant trade settlement and round-the-clock trading availability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
In an April 2025 court filing, a psychiatrist hired by the defense found that Jeffries was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders requiring round-the-clock care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Ernest estimated that the conversion program would cost about $60,000, mostly for labor on round-the-clock shifts.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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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.